The Angel and The War of Balance
by Triforce Guardian
Summary: When a young boy strolls into Konoha with a mission to fulfill, those in the village are going to be in for a very rough ride. The follower of two reawakened Gods, Kiyoshi Tenshi has always been the child warrior and now must try and protect a young Naruto and his friends from a threat that his family is responsible for - and hopefully train them in time for the evil yet to come...
1. Chapter 1

**_Hey, it's me. Man, it has been so long since I've posted something on here. I know , I know, some of you returning readers have been wating patiently for me to post a new chapter for A Sheikah's Tale, and I am working on it. It's just I find it so hard to focus at times. Still, with the story in my head trying to come out lately, I'm thinking I may be posting some time around the New Year. If I'm feeling really inspirational, it may be before, so keep your fingers crossed and pray that my muse goes into overdrive. For now though, I'm posting this. It's been on my computer for a while, and I just now finished the first chapter, so I figured what the hell. I might as well post it and see what initial reactions I get. Who knows? If the reviews are decent enough, I may just try to juggle both of them. So, any way, I hope you enjoy it._**

* * *

It was another sunny evening in Konoha, just like any other. The people were going about finishing their business, doing the various chores that needed to be done to keep their livelihoods alive. It had been six years since the Yondaime Hokage had defeated the Kyuubi no Kitsune before suffering his demise. Everything was as ordinary as could be on this beautiful day.

Hagane Kotetsu yawned loudly as he sat at his post at the front gate. Monitoring traffic was rather boring to do when there weren't many travelers that were all that special entering the village. His friend, Kamizuki Izumo, was leaning back in his chair slightly, the boredom evident on his face as he watched the area in front of the post. He then turned his head to Kotetsu. "Hey, Kotetsu. Do you want to go have some drinks later when we're done here?"

Kotetsu sighed. "Sure, but remember to bring your own money tonight. It looks like we won't get any free drinks tonight from our stories." He then snorted. "If anyone were willing to pay for drinks for this, they're either already drunk out of their minds or they're just pitying us for having to put up with this boredom."

Izumo grinned devilishly and then laughed out loud. "Well, when you put it that way, maybe we should wait until much later tonight. Then we can run into those drunks and see if they're feeling jolly."

Kotetsu then grinned along with his friend. "Not a bad idea. Still, just in case, bring your cash." Izumo just replied by waving his hand side to side, as if silently saying "Sure, sure."

The two men then heard some footfalls approaching from outside the gate. They were a little too soft for even a Genin, and they faintly heard something being dragged on the ground. Wondering if someone was injured, they looked to the front of the post as a young boy walked in through the gates.

He was about nine years-old, with spiky golden blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He was wearing a gray sleeveless shirt underneath a black zip-up hoodie, black pants, a pair of black ninja sandals, and a black belt around his waist.

_Who is this kid? The Shinigami's son? Shouldn't kids his age be a little more, I dunno, bright and sunny?_ Both men thought at the same time.

If the boy's attire wasn't odd enough, what really took the cake was that the boy was dragging behind him _a body that was completely tied up!_ The man appeared to be about twenty-five or so and was currently unconscious it seemed. On the man's forehead was a Konoha hiate that was slashed across the middle, meaning the man was a missing nin. _There's no way that this kid took down this guy! The man's got to be about three times his age! Plus the kid doesn't even have a kunai holster or any ninja gear or anything! There's no way he could have taken this guy down with simply his bare hands!_

The movement of the two seemed to have attracted the kid's attention, and he turned his head to look at them. He then grinned widely and said, "Hello! Do you mind giving me the directions to the Hokage's office, please? I've been dragging this guy for a while now, and I just wanna get my bounty redeemed." The only response he got was two very surprised stares from the Chuunin. The kid then rolled his eyes and tapped his foot impatiently. "Come _on._ I kinda would like those directions sometime soon, please. I'm also hungry as hell."

Kotetsu composed himself a little and smiled at the kid. "Uh, sure, kid. The Hokage Tower is located near the center of the village. It's the large building with the kanji for "fire" written on the front. But hey, listen, kid. If you want, we could take the prisoner for you and arrange to have the money delivered to you while you go eat." Izumo looked at Kotetsu questionably, to who Kotetsu simply made hand signals for _Take body from kid to Hokage Tower. Receive reward as well as credit. Take out small part and give majority to kid. Kid gets paid his money, we get free drinks._ Izumo merely smirked and nodded.

The kid closed his eyes and shook his head while grinning. His eyes then opened to slits, and the boy muttered, "If you even think about coming between me and my bounty..." A small katana flashed into the boy's hands and was raised towards the two men. "...I'll kill you."

Both men gulped and looked at each other. They then looked back to the boy, who had started to walk off towards the tower. Izumo then stood and called out "Hey! Wait! You need to sign the entry log before entering the village!"

Without even looking back, the boy yelled, "I already did!"

Both men looked down at the red ledger book and, sure enough, there was another name added to the list. Izumo looked to Kotetsu and asked, "When did he have time to sign the ledger? Just how fast is that kid?"

Kotetsu just kept on staring at the ledger and then said, " I'm just wondering where he got the sword. I didn't see him take out a sealing scroll and summon anything. That katana just flashed right into his hand." The two men looked back down the street that the kid had gone and then look back at each other. Kotetsu smirked and said, "You now what this means, don't you?"

Izumo returned the smirk with one of his own. "Oh yeah."

They high-fived each other and cried out, "FREE DRINKS TONIGHT!"

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen, otherwise known throughout the world as the Sandaime Hokage as well as the Professor, was sitting inside of the missions hall, going through the various jobs that were needed to be done. It looked to be an overall boring day for the most part; the missions consisted of mostly D-ranks, a couple of C-Ranks, and one B-rank that had already been assigned. And completed for that matter.

The other person inside the room, aside from the various staff members doing the paperwork assigned to them, was a black-haired, black-eyed boy roughly about the age of thirteen years-old. What made this boy so special though was that he was dressed in an ANBU captain's uniform and had a mask bearing a weasel's face in his hand. Yes, standing before the Sandaime Hokage was none other than Itachi Uchiha, the heir of the Uchiha clan and one of the top prodigies that the village had ever seen.

The boy stood at attention while the Hokage went through his mission report for the completed B-rank. Everything seemed to be in order, and the mission was completed without a hitch. Tracking down a band of missing nin might have presented a problem for a group of chunin or even a group of jonin, but for Itachi, it was almost too easy, and he had managed to bring back the traitors without any harm to himself.

Sarutobi looked up from the mission report to the young man still standing there. "Well, Itachi-san, everything seems to be in order. Your payment has been transferred to your accounts, and I again apologize for sending you out on such a low-ranked mission. I'm sure you would have liked something more challenging for your abilities."

Itachi saluted the man and merely replied, "Not at all, Hokage-sama. It is rather nice to do something easier for a change." He then smirked. "So do not not worry. My father will never hear of me doing a B-ranked mission, since all it will accomplish is more paperwork for your desk."

Sarutobi laughed, though a shiver passed through his old bones at the thought of having to face his most dreaded enemy – paperwork. "Well then. I thank you for your secrecy on the matter."

It was at this moment that a large commotion was heard right outside the room. All eyes turned towards the door and watched to see who was causing such a racket. Sarutobi inwardly sighed. _Naruto, if that's you, please don't be doing anything that will give the villagers a reason to form a mob._

The noise kept drawing closer and closer towards the room until it reached right outside the door. It then suddenly turned quiet, and everyone wondered if maybe the person was an intruder or something. This thought was then rudely interrupted when the door to the room blew off the frame and into the room. Itachi quickly pulled out his katana and sliced the incoming door into two before bringing it back up to the ready, waiting to see if what move the person would make.

The person responsible then casually strode into the room, dragging his quarry behind him. He turned his gaze to Sarutobi, and a smile spread across his face. "So, you're the old man Hokage?"

Sarutobi harrumphed and raised an eyebrow at this new intruder. "Yes, though I am curious to know just who you are, seeing as how you now owe me a new door."

The child blinked and looked back to the entrance to the room. He then looked back at Sarutobi, sweat-dropping while rubbing the back of his head and laughing nervously. "Sorry about that. I was only intending on knocking, but a bunch of uppity jonin all decided to get in my way coming here, so I forgot to control myself after I had dealt with them. They were giving me some bullshit, so I had to knock them all out."

Eyes widened all around the room at the mention of _jonin_ being knocked out by a child that was also dragging what seemed to be the body of an unconscious nin right behind him. The boy just continued chuckling nervously. "Hopefully this won't cut into my pay all that much. Anyway, here ya go. One A-rank missing nin delivered, with minimal damage to the merchandise might I add."

By now, it was impossible for the eyes of the other present in the room to grow any wider, but the Sandaime decided to go one better and felt one of them twitch slightly. He nodded to the ANBU named Cat that was standing to the side of the room, causing said woman to go over to the missing nin and check his headband. Pulling out her copy of the bingo book, she began going through the various procedures to verify the man's identity, such as checking the serial number on the back of the headband, dispelling any possible genjutsus that fake his identity – basically the standard verifying procedures. However, she had only just begun when her arms jolted back slightly in surprise, nearly dropping the book. Quickly going through the dispel handsign, she whispered, "Kai!" Evidently nothing happened, so she stood up and faced the Hokage, the surprise evident in her words.

"I-It's Aoi Rokusho, former instructor of Konoha who went rogue to Ame a few years back after stealing a secret jutsu scroll as well as the Sword of the Thunder God. T-The child's correct; there's barely any sort of injury on him aside from some bruising."

A few of the female employees crumpled to the ground, having fainted dead away, while the rest of the occupants were starting to look a little pale. Even Itachi was standing there with his mouth slightly hanging open, as even he, with all his skills and abilities as one of the greatest child prodigies, would still have a great deal of trouble taking down Aoi, not without great injury to himself and Aoi's dead body in a sealing scroll. After all, Aoi was considered a high-level A-rank criminal due to his weaponry and the skills that he'd no doubt absorbed over the years.

The silence stretched for a few minutes before Sarutobi spoke up again. "You're absolutely positive that it's him?" Cat merely nodded her answer before looking at the child in question, who decided to pass the time by twirling a kunai that had appeared out of thin air around his fingers while whistling and looking out the window. The Hokage harrumphed, causing the boy to throw the kunai at the space directly to the top of Aoi's blue-haired head, practically shaving off a part of the head down to the skin.

This action caused Aoi to jolt awake, and he looked around himself with his grey eyes as much as his bonds would allow. He caught sight of the boy, and his face started to tun purple with rage. "YOU DAMN BRAT! DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I AM AOI-"

The boy looked down at his bounty and made a closed-eyed smile. "Oh good, the princess has awoken from her slumber." Without even opening his eyes, he then kicked the enraged man in the temple, effectively knocking him out. His left eye peered open slightly. "Now go _back_ to sleep, you pompous idiot."

He turned back to the Hokage. "Now then, enough gawking please. I have brought in this man, regardless of my age and supposed skills, and I'm demanding the bounty on him. If not, then Suna will be happy to take him off of my hands, and you can try to negotiate to get him back for a higher price. Make your choice, because I'm hungry and have the slight tendency to get irritated when in such a state."

Sarutobi simply harrumphed again and pulled out a voucher slip. After writing an amount and stamping the Hokage's seal on it, he handed the slip to the child. "Take this voucher to the treasury, and present it to the manager there. He'll give you the amount that is due, minus the cost you owe me for the door."

Taking the slip, the boy grinned and waved it a little, saying, "Thanks. Before I leave, do you mind telling me where I can find some food?" Putting a finger to his chin, he wondered aloud, "Hm, what sounds delectable right now? Yakisoba? Chow mein? Ramen?"

The Hokage smirked a little and answered, "Well, if it's noodles you want, then look for Ichiraku's ramen stand. It's not too far from here."

Snapping his fingers, the boy pointed to the older man. "Excellent. I'll do just that." He turned to leave but then paused before taking a second step. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Rummaging in an inside pocket in his coat, he pulled out a scroll and tossed it behind himself straight into the Hokage's hands. The scroll was green with a red trim and had the writing "For the Hokage's eyes only" on the side. The seal of the Fire Daimyo was on the scroll, holding the flap closed, and a blood seal that only responded to the Hokage.

Sarutobi looked at the scroll curiously before glancing back at the boy, who merely shrugged in disinterest. "I was told to deliver it to you." Waving offhandedly in everyone's direction, he walked out of the room. "Later, dudes."

"Wait!"

The boy stopped in his tracks shortly and slowly turned his head to the person who called out to him. Itachi crossed his arms and said, "It is common courtesy to give your name when doing business with someone, and I believe you have not told the Hokage yours."

Smirking slightly, the boy answered, "Kyoshi Tenshi. Want me to spell it for you, captain...?"

"My name is Itachi Uchiha."

Nodding his head, Kiyoshi's smirk became a grin. "I'll remember it." With that, he walked down the hall and disappeared out of sight.

Everyone in the room watched the boy go, still unsure of exactly what just happened. The Hokage sighed a little before chuckling. "Well, at least he made an otherwise rather boring day into something of interest. Still, he's now left us with some business to attend to. Cat, you and Bear take Aoi to Ibiki for interrogation. I bet the man's just dying to get his hands on him."

The said ANBU saluted and gather up the man before disappearing in a puff of smoke. The Hokage then turned to Itachi. "Meanwhile, Itachi, you will stay here for the moment on standby while I figure out what the Daimyo wants."

Itachi made a salute. "As you wish, sir, though if it's a request to retrieve his wife's cat, you'll have to forgive me if I jump out the window before you get a chance to assign me this particular mission."

Chuckling at the boy's humor, the Hokage made his way to a private room in the back of the meeting hall and locked the door behind himself. Going through the various seals to ensure his privacy as well as double-checking the room for anyone hidden, he then broke the seal on the scroll and unraveled it, praying to Kami that this wouldn't result in more paperwork for him.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Ten minutes later...**_

The door suddenly flew open, and Sarutobi, looking as if a ghost had appeared before him, locked his gaze onto Itachi. "Itachi! Summon all ANBU here, and then go after that boy and keep an eye on him! Make sure that he is in no way harmed! And no matter what you hear or see, DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO INTERFERE AGAINST HIM, NO MATTER WHAT HE DOES! QUICKLY, GO NOW!"

Startled a little, Itachi nonetheless saluted and pulled on his weasel mask before shunshining away. The rest of the people were looking at the old Hokage, and one random chunin walked up to him. "Um, Hokage-sama, are you okay?"

Absentmindedly pulling out his pipe and quickly lighting aflame with a simple fire jutsu, Sarutobi took a long drag and slowly blew it out his mouth, muttering, "I'm getting _way_ too old for this shit."

* * *

Kiyoshi strolled down the street, keeping his eyes out for that ramen stand the old man had told him about. He had already withdrew the money from the treasury for the bounty, and the money was now stored in a very safe place on him. Exactly where, he would never tell.

Chuckling slightly, he continued walking, humming silently to himself, until he heard a cry off in the near distance. Frowning that it may be a possible attack or something, he ran off towards the sound, kunai in hand. He jumped off the walls of the buildings, avoiding the growing crowd that seemed to be centering on a single spot. He then landed on a nearby rooftop and looked at what seemed to have everyone's attention.

A small blonde-haired boy in a white shirt with a red spiral and some blue shorts was standing in the middle of the area. A few feet of empty space between him and the crowd surrounded him, though the villagers looked ready to kill. The boy was looking all around himself, clearly frightened but unable to get away, tears streaming down his cheeks.

The boy then asked, "W-What are you doing? I haven't done anything wrong!"

A villager sneered and yelled back, "You know exactly why this is happening, you filthy demon brat!"

Another then called out, "You murdered our families and took away our Yondaime!"

Followed by another, "You don't deserve to live, demon spawn!"

Kiyoshi narrowed his eyes at the scene. _Demon brat? Do they mean a hanyou? No, not likely. He doesn't have the normal traits. At least none that can be sensed. But then what else could th- No!_

He didn't have much time to ponder this abnormality, as one villager decided to get a little brave and throw a large rock at the boy's head.

The stone sailed through the air, and the young boy cowered and clamped his eyes shut as it drew closer towards him. He stood that way for a few seconds until he realized that the stone hadn't reached him yet. Risking a peek, he looked up to see, to his surprise as well as the rest of the villagers', Kiyoshi standing right in front of him, the stone firmly clenched in his right hand and a scowl on his face.

The pitiful killing intent of the villagers was suddenly blown away by the one coming from this boy, and everyone in the crowd trembled in fear as the boy asked in a tone close to a growl, "Do I dare ask why a mob with the intent to kill is surrounding a young child who seems to have done nothing wrong?"

Most of the villagers were too frightened to even make a coherent sound, but the man who had thrown the rock stood forward and, though his legs were trembling a little, said confidently, "Stay out of this, kid. We've got no problem with you. Now stand aside and let us deal with this demon. It's high time the village was rid of him."

Kiyoshi laughed darkly and lifted his hooded head to stare directly into the man's eyes, causing the man to nearly lose control of his bowels. "I don't know what's going on, but I think that any person who condones the abuse of a child who is plainly innocent of any crime should killed in a horrific manner. So I'm going to say this once to all of you: anyone who takes even one step forward will die painfully by my hand."

The man seemed to regain some more of his confidence, as he then sneered and started walking again towards the two. He opened his mouth to say something but was abruptly interrupted as the stone that was in Kiyoshi's hand suddenly hit the man in the head hard, nearly causing him to black out. He stumbled back a little and barely saw a black blur shoot forward towards him, revealing it to be Kiyoshi with a kunai in hand.

With one quick horizontal motion, Kiyoshi sliced the kunai across the man's stomach, causing said man's intestines to suddenly drop out of his body and dangle there. The man then screamed in agony and terror, falling onto his back and laying there, dying rather fast from the extreme loss of blood.

Kiyoshi then turned to the rest of the crowd and smiled evilly. "Who's next?" This, of course, sent the entire crowd into a panic, and they all ran away from the two boys screaming for their lives about a "true demon ninja." Soon the entire street was emptied, all in a matter of mere seconds, leaving the two boys and the disemboweled corpse there alone.

Kiyoshi snorted a little and muttered "Cowards," under his breath before turning his attention to the corpse. He began to search through its clothes' pockets, looking for some form of ID, until he came across some items that sparked his interest: a Konoha ninja headband, several hundred thousand ryo, and a note reading, "_**The target is the demon brat. Incite a crowd to form a mob and chase after him. Beat him badly but make sure he is not killed."**_

_Someone really wanted this guy to attack the kid, if the cash is anything to go by. But why? And why was this ninja only in civilian clothing in his own village? It's common procedure for ninja to display their headbands on their person when within their own village no matter what their clothing is. So why hide?_

Kiyoshi's attention was diverted when the kid began to edge closer to him. Pocketing the items before the kid saw them – swearing all the while to bring this before the old man - he turned to him. "You okay, kid? They didn't get you, did they?"

The boy was now starting to shy away from Kiyoshi, no doubt afraid that the older boy may turn his more violent attentions toward him, but he stuttered out, "Y-You k-k-_killed_ him..."

Kiyoshi sighed. "Kid, it was either I kill him before he got too cocky, or the mob regain their confidence, making me kill _all_ of them. One man or fifty? Better for the man who seemed to be the leader to be killed. Without him, the rest of them scattered like leaves on the wind."

The boy simply looked to the body and shuddered, though it didn't seem as violent as most children would normally react. Judging by this, Kiyoshi surmised that this wasn't the first time that the kid had seen a person die in front of him - something that Kiyoshi was determined to find out.

His thoughts were interrupted by several ANBU who had jumped down around him. They all had kunai in their hands, though they refrained from charging at him. _No doubt they were watching my speed, making them hesitant to go against me directly. Since I tried at first refraining from bloodshed, they probably realize I'm not some berserker._

An ANBU with a Dog mask stepped forward. "Shinobi, you have murdered a civilian of this town. Due to circumstances preceding the death, you will be escorted to the Hokage Tower rather than thrown out of the village. Please come with us."

Dog took another step forward, reaching for both boys, before they all heard, "Dog! Back down!" Everyone turned to see an ANBU with a Weasel mask shunshin into the area, causing Kiyoshi to smirk. Weasel stood from the ground and said, "All ANBU are to report to the Hokage for a quick debriefing. No one is to be absent – or late – to this under penalty of immediate removal from the shinobi ranks. Leave the boys alone. Hokage's orders state the foreigner isn't to be impeded in any way, no matter what he may do to us – ninja or citizen alike."

The ANBU began whispering slightly amongst themselves, and Dog glanced at the boys again quickly before nodding his head and replying, "Alright. The boy should be fine in that foreigner's hands." He then turned to the rest of the ANBU. "Team, hurry to Hokage Tower. Let's get this over with."

One by one, the ANBU began to shunshin away, leaving the two boys and Weasel alone. As Weasel began to turn away, Kiyoshi called out, "Yo, Weasel! I need you to deliver a message for me." He stopped and looked back to the young boy.

Kiyoshi then continued. "Tell your Hokage that I need to talk to him and that he can find me at Ichiraku's tonight. It's urgent." When Weasel nodded, he then grinned. "Also, see if you can find Captain Itachi Uchiha. As a head of ANBU, he needs to hear some of this too."

A little shocked that the boy knew this info, Weasel let out a dry, "I'll see if he's available," and then shunshined away.

Kiyoshi chuckled to himself and turned to the boy. "Hey, kid. What's your name?"

The boy just stared at him for a second with his cerulean eyes before allowing a happy smile onto his face. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I'm six years-old, and one day, I'm gonna be a powerful ninja, dattebayo!"

Kiyoshi's eyes widened for a split second before letting a grin form onto his face. He clapped the boy on the shoulder and said, "Well then, come on, Naruto. Let's go get some ramen."

Naruto's eyes widened as a little drool seeped out of his mouth at the mention of the word. He then yelled out, "YAY, RAMEN!" before grabbing Kiyoshi by the hand and dragging him towards the stand.

* * *

The Hokage puffed his pipe a few more times as he watched for the last of Special Forces enter the room. He sighed a little and said, "You all are wondering why you are here, no doubt?" Most of the ANBU just nodded their heads or murmured a quick assent. Sarutobi continued, "As of right now, there is a guest within this village who must be protected at all times. But that is not the whole matter." He took another quick puff from his pipe, collecting his words so that he could convey the seriousness of the situation. He then spoke up again, "This guest – a nine year-old boy named Kiyoshi Tenshi – is regarded as part of an Omega-class secret amongst all Kages and Daimyos."

The room filled with nervous whispers. All secrets of the Hidden Villages were ranked based upon their seriousness. First were the Delta-class, or D-rank, secrets that really held no importance if they were lost, though it was still procedure to retrieve them if possible. Next were the Theta class, or C-rank, secrets – still not as bad to lose, but more of a priority than simple D-ranks. Above that were the Beta class, or B-rank, secrets, where things started to become more dangerous for the Hidden Village involved should they be revealed. Next were the Alpha class, or A-rank, secrets – very dangerous territory for all involved in its knowledge. And finally were the Sigma class, or S-rank, secrets, which were closely guarded by all ninja. It was even worse if those ranks reached double or triple S, and by that point, if the secret was stolen or revealed to the general public, then all those involved could very well kiss their hides goodbye before all hell rained down on them. But, no. This kid was _**Omega**_ class, which meant that this situation was more than just serious; it was a bomb ready blow at the smallest of reasons.

One shinobi finally found his voice to say, "A-A-A-An O-rank, Lord Hokage? But how-"

Sarutobi cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Believe me when I say that this situation has become even more complicated than you realize, even now. Kiyoshi is not just a mere person of importance – he's a delegate from the courts of the Jade Emperor himself."

Another ninja found his voice, and it was now laced in disbelief. "The Jade Emperor? Lord Hokage, forgive my rudeness but that is nothing more than a fairy tale told to children. There's no way that such a man exists."

The Sandaime, feeling his age more than ever, smiled mirthlessly. "Oh, but that is were you are wrong. As I said, this secret is kept amongst all the major, and some minor, nations. The existence of the Emperor is no myth; he is very much real. Every Kage and Daimyo who ever takes office is made aware of this man, either peacefully or _painfully_. When told this information, the informed then has two choices: either accept his reign and do as he says no matter how frivelous or gruesome the order may be..." Sarutobi took another moment to puff his pipe and exhale the smoke slowly.

"Or disobey him and have your village be destroyed."

By now, some of the ANBU were shaking – yes, shaking – at the thought at the power that this mere child delegate could possess. If they so much as blinked wrong, this kid would inform the Emperor, and it's goodbye Konoha.

Bear stepped forward and asked the Hokage, "Surely we could arrange something with this child? You know, escort him around, show him some paperwork, and then send him on his way?"

Sarutobi let out another mirthless chuckle. "You really think that the Emperor would send some ignorant moron to represent him? No, this boy has more power than you think. He's been raised on court politics probably since he first drank his mother's milk, so he knows what to look for, where to look, and what questions to ask. And as for overpowering him and threatening him? Oh yes, I know some of you more arrogant shinobi are considering it. Well, guess what? Not only do I have no doubt that he has protectors hidden somewhere inside as well as outside the village walls, Kiyoshi himself has been trained by the Emperor's best, whether they be ninja, samurai, monk, or whatever else you can think of. You choose to fight him, you die. It's that simple."

An ANBU with a Tiger mask then shouted out, "Well then, what the hell are we supposed to? If we can't defend ourselves from someone like this, then how do we fight?"

Sarutobi banged his fist down and shot up from his seat, yelling out, "DON'T YOU GET IT? WE DON'T! This isn't some small annoyance that we either try to push to the side or get rid of! We may be one of the most powerful shinobi nations, but our power is loaned to us! If the Emperor had wanted it, we would already be _dead_! You hear me? _**DEAD**_!"

There was a stunned silence in the room, and Sarutobi took this moment to calm himself and sit back into his chair. A few minutes later, Dog finally spoke up, "Lord Hokage, if all this is true, then why hasn't the Emperor revealed himself to the rest of the world? Why is it such a closely guarded secret amongst the leaders of the nations?"

Sarutobi sighed. "Simple, because he is protecting himself through the ignorance of the people of the Elemental Nations. None of the people in this village know about him, and yet most of their taxes go to the Fire Daimyo who then takes out a very hefty share and gives it to him as tribute. As long as he is a secret, then he is safe from those who would try to harm him."

"But Lord Hokage, how is that possible?"

"How can you kill a man who does not exist? If most ninja are unaware of him, then they won't try to find him. There's simply just no temptation. And so long as the leaders obey whatever decrees he makes, he's content to keep it that way."

A woman in a Viper mask then, to surprise of those there, meekly said, "And, if he isn't?"

Sarutobi barked out a laugh. "Then you'd better pray the Shinigami takes your soul before his forces arrive at our doorstep."

He then stood up and motioned to all present. "That is the reason why, no matter what he does or says, Kiyoshi Tenshi must never be impeded. If he chooses to kill a civilian, you ask if you can help. If he kidnaps a child, you prevent the parents from finding out. If he rapes a woman, you surround the room and prevent her from escaping. I don't care what questions he asks, what actions he performs, or where he chooses to go; you just keep him safe. And if you choose to do otherwise or try to attack him, then you're already dead to me and I wash my hands of you. Do I make myself clear?"

The room resounded with a loud "HAI!" before Weasel shunshined into the room. He walked up to the Hokage and whispered Kiyoshi's earlier message into the old man's ear. Sarutobi nodded and turned back to the rest of the room. "A formal meeting between me, the councils, and all ninja ranked chunin and above will be arranged tomorrow. In the meantime, return to your posts."

All ANBU shunshined away in response, and Sarutobi turned back to Weasel. "Now then, Itachi. It's time we went and found out what Kiyoshi wishes to speak to us about."

Itachi removed his mask and put it into his pouch. "Hai, Lord Hokage."

* * *

**_Well? What do you all think? Yes, both Kiyoshi and Naruto will be paired off with somebody, but I've really been hung up on who to pair with who. The first idea was to pair Naruto off with Sakura (who will not predominately be a bitch in this story except when the situation calls for it, I assure you, and that will only depend on the ending I choose) and Kiyoshi with Ino and Hinata. The other pairings were for Naruto to get Ino and Hinata while Kiyoshi gets Sakura. Then the last pairings were for Naruto and Hinata while Kiyoshi gets Ino and Sakura. I have a poll up on my profile for who you think Kiyoshi will get paired up with, and that answer will determine Naruto's as well. So leave a vote on the poll, and I'll see about when I can post this. Until then, take care and please read and review!_**


	2. Chapter 2

It didn't take long for Naruto to lead Kiyoshi to the stand they were looking for. It seemed that the Hokage was right when he said the stand really wasn't far from the tower; it only felt a little longer due to Kiyoshi's little detour. Still, it was only minutes before Naruto dragged Kiyoshi up to a roadside stand that was a little small but very well-kept. As they drew closer to the bar, a young woman's voice called out from the back, "Welcome to Ichiraku's! We'll be right out! Dad, seriously, quit acting like a wimp and help me push this box..."

Naruto smiled widely and called out, "Hey Ayame! Hey, Teuchi!"

"Oh, hey Naruto! Hang on just a sec! Ayame, will you just put that box down somewhere? We can sort this stuff out later."

An annoyed huff was heard before two people came out of the back. The first was an older man, around the age of 30 to 35, with black hair under a kerchief hat and a stern look on his face that seemed to fade slightly when he saw the young boy. He was closely followed by a girl around the age of 13, also wearing a kerchief over her medium auburn locks and a kindly expression on her face that turned even brighter as she got closer to the bar. She quickly leaned forward over the countertop and hugged Naruto, ruffling his hair as she drew back. "Hey there, Naruto. We were wondering what had happened to you." Her gaze then took in the older blond, and, though her face never changed, her eyes seemed to take a more hardened glint. "Oh, who's this?"

Kiyoshi bowed to the two and said, "Hello, my name is Kiyoshi Tenshi."

The glint in the girl's eyes didn't fade. "I'm Ayame Ichiraku, and behind me is my dad, Teuchi. You're not from around here, are you?" Her hands made a subtle gesture, surprising Kiyoshi a little when she made the handsigns _You're no civilian, Ninja._

Kiyoshi simply smiled. "No, I actually from a little farther north, from an area located a little west outside Kumo's borders." His own hands began to sign off _Not really a ninja. Something much stronger. Here representing Jade Dragon._

Both the Ichiraku's eye widened a little, and Ayame turned and smiled at Naruto. "Hey, Naruto, your hands look a little dirty. Why don't you go into the restroom in the back and wash them?"

Naruto smiled and nodded his head before jumping off his stool. After he had gone into the back, Ayame turned back to Kiyoshi. "All right, I don't know who you are, but you either are more than meets the eye or have some major balls as well as excessive stupidity for claiming you work for the Emperor. Start talking."

Kiyoshi's eyes hardened as his smile turned into a smirk. "You think you can order me, _ANBU_? You must have not gotten the message yet. I stand higher than anyone in this village and can back it up in more ways than one if I have to. So don't piss me off. I just had to save that kid from a mob earlier, and I'm curious to know just who hates him so much."

Both the Ichiraku's now paled a little, and Teuchi spoke up, since his daughter seemed to have lost her voice. "How did you know that we were-"

"You practically glided into the room without making a sound, and the stances that you both took have too much edge for mere ramen chefs – you're both tensed to react at the slightest move. If I had to venture a guess, you both have several kunai hidden under the aprons you're wearing. You, Teuchi, always seemd to have your hands a little close to the cutting knife that seems to be made from something a little better than ordinary steel and has no food by-products on it. Meanwhile, judging by your stance, Ayame, you have some high-strength ninja wire coiled around your arms, and I also find it odd that a waitress is carrying around a butcher's knife – again made of the same material as the cutting knife and has no signs of using it on food – in the ties of her apron when she hasn't even gotten close to the cooking area yet. Also, there's no meats or any needing cutting out on the counters at all, so why always have knives close at hand when you don't need them?"

Kiyoshi smirked as he took in their shocked faces before interrupting the musings that were no doubt running rampant in their minds. "All right, now Naruto's going be back in a few seconds, so answer quickly. He's a jinchuuriki, presumably of the Nine-Tailed Fox that attacked six years ago, yes? You can answer me without repercussions, I assure you."

Teuchi's face took on a more somber look. "Yes, he is. How did you find out?"

"Wasn't that hard really. Villagers running around screaming about a demon fox while trying to attack an innocent boy raises questions, and that was the only answer available, given the village's history. Who in this village has it out for him?"

"Specifically? The factions are divided. Most ninja clans want to adopt him, while some others want to train him to use the fox's powers as a weapon. On the other hand, most of the civilian council want him dead, but that's only because Kyuubi destroyed their businesses during its rampage, so those same people are just nothing but fat, childish fools whose toys and baubles were broken. There are a few within that faction that, at the very least, don't mind the boy, but they are only a few. The civilians themselves mostly just ignore him, but there are some who go out of their way just to make his life more miserable than it already is."

"Why the animosity? Were there a lot of civie ninja that were killed in the attack?"

Ayame snorted derisively and shook her head. "That's just it. Most of the ninja killed were actually from clans, and to be honest, there were only around two-hundred or so all together from all the clans combined. It could have been worse, obviously, but the clans were able to distract it for a while before the Yondaime showed up. Most of the civilian ninja were located close to the monument, where all the safe houses are located."

"So again, why the animosity from the civilians?"

"That's where things get a little more murky. Like we said, the civilians are fools, so they have no clue just how sealings work; they only see profits and their own comforts. They're also lazy, however, so by all rights, they should have just given up after Sarutobi put his foot down the first time. Someone's egging the council members on."

Kiyoshi leaned onto the counter and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. He then looked back to the ramen chefs/ANBU and asked, "Any ideas who's pulling the strings?"

"Two, maybe three. Danzo Shimura for one. He was Sarutobi's contender for the Hokage position way back and now opposes him at every turn. He's a war hawk, but was crippled during the Second Ninja War. That may be for show, though, so watch out."

Kiyoshi nodded his head. "Anyone else?"

Ayame frowned a little in thought. "The Hokage's two advisors, Himura and Koharu, seem to lean a little more to Danzo's side than Sarutobi's. However, it's more Himura than Koharu, as she tends to take a more neutral standpoint in all this."

"However, I would more suggest going after those under them," Teuchi piped up as he watched the noodles. "You won't really find much evidence on those three unless you raid their underlings' businesses first. Once you do that, you'll force the three of them into a corner where they can't run."

"Who are these underlings?"

Ayame turned and nodded to her father before heading into the back. Teuchi replied, "We have a list of known collaborators. Ayame will get you a copy right now. Besides, Naruto should have been back by now."

A few moments later, Ayame returned with Naruto following. He turned to Teuchi and smiled. "Sorry, I took so long, Teuchi. For some odd reason, the faucet in the back wouldn't turn on again, so I had to use the restroom upstairs."

Ayame smirked a little as she handed Kiyoshi an envelope while Naruto's attention was distracted. At Kiyoshi's amused, inquiring look, she simply signed, _Seals_.

Kiyoshi grinned a little and signed back, _Put his tab onto mine. Tell him ramen's on house. Should hopefully distract him a little bit._

Ayame nodded before turning to Naruto as he got back onto his stool, a cheerful expression back on her face. "Hey, Naruto, how about for tonight, all your ramen is on us?"

Naruto's face let off sheer, indescribable joy before he then jumped up in the air and yelled, "YAY! FREE RAMEN!"

Everyone else present just laughed.

* * *

After food had been served, the Hokage then showed up and took a seat right between Naruto and Kiyoshi while Itachi, sans his mask, sat on Kiyoshi's other side. The Hokage smiled at Naruto's antics and gently said, "Remember to breathe, Naruto. You want to be able to taste the ramen you're eating."

Naruto gently nodded his head, still eating though at a slightly more slow pace. Sarutobi smiled again and then turned to his other side to face Kiyoshi. He then muttered in a lowered voice, "I heard that you were able to prevent an incident earlier?"

Still chewing on the noodles in his mouth, Kiyoshi nodded his head and discreetly passed over the three items he found on the corpse earlier. Silence reigned for a few minutes as the two newcomers examined the items before Sarutobi asked, "Itachi, any idea who the serial number belongs to?"

Thanking Ayame for the miso ramen she handed him, Itachi split his chopsticks as he replied, "The name escapes me for a moment, but I do remember his face from when we picked up the body. The man was a chuunin who worked as an inner-village courier, so he probably had an idea of how the streets were laid out to help find his target. Aside from that, however, there wasn't much else to him. Decent chakra reserves as well as control, but no real special abilities to think of. Overall, just a face in the crowd."

Kiyoshi narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Those ones are the most dangerous; you don't notice them til the last second. What are the chances that he's had regular contact with this Danzo character I've heard about?"

"Probably very high. The handwriting does look somewhat like his, but it's still different enough to cast doubt for anyone else."

Kiyoshi chuckled as he finished his bowl and ordered another ramen, pork this time. "Looks like my opponent is a bit of a mastermind, but fine, I'll just be smarter. Sarutobi, does the man have any particular haunts that he frequents regularly? Bars, brothels, stores, anything?"

Sarutobi shook his head a little. "Only a few that we know of, but he only visits them once in a- Wait a minute." The Third's face changed to a look of deep thought for a few seconds before continuing, "Now that I think about it, there is a bar that he's been pretty active at lately. A few reliable sources tell me he's been getting friendly with the barman and receiving info from him."

"Intel from a barman?" Itachi wondered.

"You'd be surprised just how much those types of people actually know. No one bothers to notice a barman, a prostitute, or a beggar, so they don't bother to hide what they know in front of those types. Sometimes these people offer better intel than some military organizations, so maybe that's Danzo's game. He needs info on something; we just need to find out what."

Sarutobi glanced at the boy. "Need any assistance? I can offer some ANBU I trust."

Kiyoshi shook his head. "No. He may recognize them and put his guard up. For now, I'm just an unknown factor he doesn't realize yet, so he'll ignore me. How often does he go to that bar?"

Itachi spoke into his earpiece quickly before turning back to the other two. "He's heading there now."

Kiyoshi smiled evilly. "Perfect. That fits into my plans rather nicely." The smile dropped though, as he glanced over to Naruto, who seemed to be getting close to his last few bowls. He glanced back to Sarutobi. "Does he have someplace safe to stay at tonight, preferably with someone you can trust?"

Ayame leaned down and picked up the empty bowls while whispering, "He'll stay with us tonight. He does it every now and again."

Kiyoshi nodded and stood up, pulling some of the bills from the corpse out of its bundle and laying enough of them down on the counter to cover all the meals. When the two men looked questioningly at him, he just smirked darkly and replied, "It seems that our mutual friend the corpse just paid for dinner. I'll remember to thank him at his funeral." He pulled the hood of his coat over his head before tipping the brim to everyone. "Gentlemen, lady."

He turned to leave, but he then froze suddenly, alerting them quickly. Sarutobi frowned and muttered, "What's wrong?"

Kiyoshi shook his head, muttering back, "Distract Naruto with something, then apply this seal," he handed them a slip of paper with markings on it, "to the counter of the bar. Then wait for ten minutes before checking if the coast is clear."

"My ANBU-"

"No. It's best if you don't get them involved. Tell them to stand down. I'll handle everything."

As Kiyoshi left the bar, the Sandaime turned to a hidden ANBU and made a subtle gesture, signing, _Assist him only if he requires it._ The ANBU in the shadows nodded and shunshined off.

* * *

Kiyoshi walked towards the presences that he sensed earlier, turning a corner to see a mob walking towards the stand he just vacated. He noticed, with some small amusement, that some of the people looked vaguely like the ones from the mob earlier and wondered just how many of them had actually returned. It seemed to be quite a few, because the moment the crowd saw him, they halted and eyed him warily.

Kiyoshi just smirked and said, "Now, I don't wish to assume things, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were about to go make trouble for little Naruto and the Hokage. That's not very nice."

One of the people called out, "Stay out of this, outsider! You have no idea what that creature has done to us! And the Hokage is a fool for supporting him!"

Another called out, "We lost so many of our ninja to that damned fox! It doesn't deserve to live!"

Kiyoshi chuckled and shook his head, staring at the ground. "Oh, I didn't realize that you cared so much about your ninja clans, 'cause the way I hear it, most of your civie ninja hadn't even participated. If anyone should be angry, it should be the clans, and I don't see any of them out here with you."

The crowd murmured to each other, confusion amongst them all. Kiyoshi merely continued, "Now, I'm in a rush, and you all probably have better things to do. So here's what you're going to do: You all are going to go home right now and forget ever forming a mob again," he raised his head and stared levelly at them, continuing in a more malicious voice, "...**before I get pissed off at your ignorance and just kill you.**"

The crowd, roaring with pure anger now, began to run towards the boy, intent on tearing him limb from limb. But Kiyoshi just stood there and smiled. "**Oh well. I warned you.**"

He just stared at the mob for a second, a smile on his face, before the area was blanketed with the most potent killer intent ever felt. The crowd suddenly stopped, frozen in fear. No one – not Ibiki Morino, not the Sandaime Hokage, not Orochimaru – could match this power. Not even the Kyuubi's KI was anything like this; that was just raw power and anger. This KI felt...dark. Evil. Almost like it was living chaos. For a second, nothing happened, until someone screamed and stabbed himself, trying to escape through death.

Then hell broke loose.

The crowd began turning on each other and themselves - stabbing, slashing, burning, _destroying_ everything living. Limbs were hacked off, eyes were put out, ninjutsu of every kind were thrown, there was screaming that could be heard for miles, and through all of this, Kiyoshi just stood there and smiled.

Within minutes of the KI outburst, the mob lay on the ground, dead or dying fast, and Kiyoshi walked past them, the smile still there, muttering to any who could hear, "**Don't need justu or bloodlines to cause someone insanity; just good ol' killing intent.**" He turned down a dark alley and then promptly disappeared into the shadows.

Up above, the ANBU had watched this scene unfold. Some were now on the ground, heaving up whatever was in their stomachs, while others were barely holding it in, turning green under their masks. After a few seconds of silence, aside from the sound of retching, a man with a Hawk mask turned to the one with the Dog and shakily said, "Senpai, just who is this kid?"

Dog shook his head and said, "Someone who is potentially more dangerous than Orochimaru if he ever decides we're not his allies."

There was a few more seconds of silence before Hawk turned back to Dog. "Senpai?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I just shit myself."

Dog sighed and replied, "Me too, Hawk. Me too."

* * *

Kiyoshi exited from the shadows in an alley a block away from the bar that Sarutobi mentioned. He stood still for a second, before rushing over to an area behind a dumpster and began vomit out the contents of his stomach. After retching a few times, he finally staggered back and leaned against the wall of the building behind him. He ran a hand over his face and wiped off the sweat near his face before then gripping his other forearm while a couple tears escaped from his eyes, thinking, _Oh Gods, why is this affecting me now?_

He sighed deeply and stood there, gazing off into space, before finally shaking his head and standing straight. A quick flash of light enveloped him, and where Kiyoshi once stood was now a man around his mid-twenties, with long silver hair running down to the middle of his back and blue eyes glancing around for watchers. His clothes consisted of a standard Jounin uniform, complete with Konoha headband, that was rather common amongst the shinobi forces. In all, Kiyoshi simply looked like another faceless nin, somebody in the system but nobody remarkable enough for someone to go sniffing around.

Satisfied with the disguise, Kiyoshi turned and walked out of the alley, heading for the target.

* * *

Sarutobi did as Kiyoshi instructed, waiting until the full ten minutes were up before going to check on the problem. Ayame had already taken Naruto upstairs to get him ready for bed, and Teuchi was finishing off the last of his cleaning duties before closing down for the night. When the time was up, Itachi switched on his earpiece again and muttered, "Report."

A woman's voice crackled to life. "_Sir, whatever that boy did...well, let's just say he got the job done."_

Sarutobi frowned slightly, and muttered into his own earpiece. "Explain, Cat."

There was a pause before Cat spoke again. _"Well, sir, you're going to have to come and see for yourself. It's...too difficult to put into words."_

"Understood. We'll rendezvous with you there." After hearing her affirmation, Sarutobi switched off his earpiece again and nodded to Itachi. Both of them stood up quickly and shunshined off to the ANBU's position, appearing right next to Cat a few seconds later.

All the ANBU turned to him, and Sarutobi noticed the vomit that was off to the side quickly before saying, "Report."

Dog shook his head and motioned towards the street. "You should see it for yourself, sir."

Both Sarutobi and Itachi walked towards the edge of the building and paled as they looked down to see carnage of the bloodiest kind. This was something that was more akin to rabid animals attacking than a shinobi killing his targets. How could a nine year-old kid cause this?

They both turned back to the group, and Itachi whispered, "The kid..._butchered_ them?"

Cat shook her head. "That's the scariest part, sir. The kid didn't do a damn thing. He simply focused some of the most potent killing intent – so potent it felt worse than Kyuubi – and turned it on them. The crowd just froze for a few seconds, and then they did this to _**themselves**_. No chakra, no handsigns, nothing."

Everyone was silent for a moment, before Viper spoke up, again surprising everyone with her meek tone. "Sir, whoever this kid is, you were right when you said he could protect himself. There were chuunin-level nin down there, and this kid just wiped them out without even moving. If this kid fights us, sir, he's probably going to be able to take down all of ANBU as well as yourself and walk away alive."

Sarutobi nodded his head. "Now you see why I stressed keeping that kid happy, but I think this won't be the last of these attacks. After tomorrow, consider this village under silent lockdown. I want no one doing anything that could disturb this kid's visit, including the villagers and Naruto. Naruto is to now be observed at all times, no matter what is going on. Any and all attacks are to be stopped before escalating and causing Naruto harm, and that means killing whoever's involved."

Dog tilted his head to the side in confusion. "May I ask why, sir? We've always made sure to intervene if the crowd turns violent."

Sarutobi sighed and replied, "Because Kiyoshi has taken a liking to the boy already. He already knows the truth about Naruto and is determined to make sure he is safe, though probably not for reasons we may suspect. I know he's going to check on Naruto constantly, and if he doesn't like something, he'll fix it _however_ he can." He motioned to the dead crowd. "And that includes killing whoever he deems a threat."

The ANBU shuddered collectively before Dog asked, "What are our orders, sir?"

Itachi finally spoke up. "Clean this area completely. Make sure there are no traces of what happened tonight, and burn the bodies at the morgue. Until the Hokage reveals differently, these people are now considered missing from the village. We don't need the civilian council raising a fuss about this. Tail Kiyoshi Tenshi, but only observe. He knows we're tailing him but also knows we will not intervene. If he demands help, you give it. Also, post a few guards near Ichiraku's. Ensure no one even gets near that stand. If even one person gets into the house, regardless if Naruto Uzumaki is hurt or not, you will be turning in your mask in the morning. All ANBU are now considered on high alert. Understood?"

The group yelled out, "HAI!"

"Scatter."

The ANBU complied, shunshining away to do their jobs while wondering just how many people in Konoha were going to survive Kiyoshi Tenshi's visit.

* * *

Kiyoshi strolled into the bar where Danzo was seen heading to, looking around as he neared the counter. _Ichiraku mentioned that the man in question was crippled in the second war. That means I'm looking for an older man with a cane at least, probably bandages as well._

Seeing no such man in the room, he went to the bar counter and ordered a bottle of sake, his eyes moving around the room. There were a few other ninja in the room – a couple jounin at one table and a few chuunin scattered around the rest of the room. The chuunin were hardly noticeable, though Kiyoshi smirked when he noticed the two who were guarding the gate this morning talking animatedly about "the kid ninja".

The two jounin, however, Kiyoshi recognized easily from their bingo book records. One was a man with black hair and a beard, a cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth. _Asuma Sarutobi, B- to A-rank jounin and eldest son of the Sandaime Hokage. Was once part of Fire Country's Twelve Guardians, but is now back in Konoha for the time being. High wind affinity, with proficient skills in fire as well. Main weapons used are a pair of trench knives that allow him to channel wind chakra into the blades, making them even sharper._

The other was a somewhat sickly looking man with short brown hair sticking out from under his bandanna-like hiate and a sword strapped to his back. The man paused in his conversation for a second to let out a few small coughs before turning back to Asuma. _Hayate Gekko, high B-rank tokubetsu jounin. Master of the Dance of the Crescent Moon style of kenjutsu. No other recognizable skills. Currently thought to be the lover of one Yugao Uzuki, an ANBU under the designation Cat who is learning Crescent Moon as well. Is currently sick with the early stages of as-of-yet unidentified disease._

Kiyoshi saw the barman put his sake bottle onto the counter, which he took before heading over to one of the booths. As he calmly poured some into a saucer, a new patron walked into the building.

A man with bandages covering the right side of his face as well as his right arm, a cross-shaped scar on his chin, and a cane in his left hand casually but a little slowly walked into the room. Kiyoshi smirked to himself. _Danzo Shimura. We meet at last. Suspicious, aren't you? Especially judging by the way your eyes are trying to take in everything at once. Ha. Well then, old man, let's see how you fair against me in the days to come._

Danzo sauntered over towards the bar counter and ordered a small sake before walking over to the empty booth behind Kiyoshi. A few seconds later, the barman brought the bottle and saucer to him and sat down. Reaching for the bottle, Danzo glanced at the man. "Do you normally sit with your patrons, or is this an attempt to get out of your work, Mr. Takegawa?"

Takegawa smiled and replied, "Acutally, it's my break, so a little more of the first. Anyway, it would be a little suspicious if I kept on coming over here repeatedly, no?"

Danzo nodded. "Agreed." He sipped his sake quietly before then asking, "Is there anything new for purchase?"

The barman turned serious and slid a few documents forward, slowly so as to not attract attention. "A few good bits of info, plus a couple freebies about them. It seems as if there might be another player in the Elemental Nations."

Kiyoshi tensed slightly while raising his saucer, listening hard for anything that might reveal him too early. _Dammit, if he starts talking about me, I may have to attack him and run. There's no way this henge is going to hold if I have to fight my way out._ Silently, a kunai flashed into his hand under the table as Kiyoshi waited.

Danzo put his saucer down and leveled a stare at the man. "Really? Who?"

Takegawa looked around quickly, making sure no one was listening, before muttering lowly, "A shinobi village supposedly located around Rice Country. They go by the name Otogakure. They formed not too long ago."

Danzo raised an eyebrow slightly. "Interesting."

Takegawa shook his head. "There's more, actually. Rumor has it that a certain snake-like acquaintance of our village is somehow involved. Details are very sketchy, though; my contact barely made it out in one piece."

Kiyoshi relaxed a little, but was still a little tense as Danzo voiced what he was thinking. "Orochimaru..."

The barman nodded. "Like I said, it's a rumor, but there's no way to confirm it right now."

Danzo nodded slightly, slightly lost in thought, before then asking, "How much for the info?"

"Since this info nearly claimed a good contact, I have to raise it a little higher, since it'll be a while before I find another one like him while the first is OOC*."

Danzo lowered his head in thought before saying, "Alright. I'll offer twenty-thousand, twice the normal price for this amount of info, and no more."

Takegawa mulled it over quickly, considering his options, before nodding his head and standing up. "Agreed. Pay me when you finish your drink, like always."

Danzo didn't say anything and merely sipped his drink as the man got up and walked back over to the bar. For a few minutes, nothing else happened. Danzo just kept on sitting there, pouring himself a new drink every so often and downing it slowly in one drink, his eyes never resting on one place too long.

Kiyoshi used this moment of silence to ponder what he'd just heard, sipping on his own drink, the kunai long gone. _So, it seems the dear snake has decided to finally resurface. Strange, though. Why risk it all by founding his own village? Surely he'd realize that someone may find out his identity soon. Then again..._he spared a quick glance at the back wall of his booth behind himself, _considering who is being given this information, he may not have to worry. This Danzo doesn't really seem to be interested in turning Orochimaru in. If he were, he would have left already with the info and taken it to the Hokage to investigate the moment he muttered the snake's name. Very curious._

Danzo soon stood up and sauntered over to the counter, passing over some bills to the barman, before leaving through the door. Kiyoshi waited a few moments, watching Takegawa subtly thumb through the bills quickly and then smirk as he put them into his pants. It was at this moment that Kiyoshi then walked over to the bar himself and dropped off his own payment, plus a decent-sized tip that Takegawa nodded to him in thanks when he saw how much lay there. Kiyoshi then walked out into the street and into an alleyway, his henge fading quickly before disappearing into the shadows, thinking, _We'll meet again, Danzo Shimura, but remember: this game has only begun, and I'm a person who refuses to lose._

* * *

*** OOC = Out-of-Commission**

_**A/N: Sorry this update took so long. I've only been able to work on it here and there between my current job-hunting and trying to get my college transfer stuff out of the way. Seriously, why I chose to only look at one university and then attend it without looking at my other options, I'll never know. It's not too say that the place isn't horrible; it's just that I'd rather not have to pay $15,000 a semester for tuition fees alone for a English creative writing program that they had only just started two years ago. Life just sucks that way, I guess. Anyway, I'll hopefully be able to start on the next chapter soon, and, in the process, learn a little about who Kiyoshi is and to whom his allegiances truly serve. I guarantee you that you'll be moderately surprised about the tie-in/crossover that I'm trying to implement.**_

**_I've still got the poll up for the pairings in my story. Just to let you know, though, I had to remove the "Other" option from it since I've been racking my brain for the longest time about who was going to fill that postion; eventually I just decided "Screw it" and tossed it out. So, sorry to those who had chosen that option. The options now stand at three girls - Hinata, Ino, and Sakura - so make your choice._**

**_It's on that point that I would like to make one last reminder. Please remember that the poll is for KIYOSHI and NOT Naruto, though the results of the poll will determine who Naruto gets. Nothing's set in stone yet, but since I'd like to offer a little motivation for all those people voting. As it stands right now, Hinata is in the lead and Sakura is in last place (by how much is known only to me); that means that as it stands right now, Hinata would be paired with Kiyoshi and Sakura would be paired with Naruto (Ino could go one way or the other depending on my mood when I make the final choice). So, for those of you who don't want to see Sakura be paired with Naruto (and I know that there are tons of you who have this view), you may wish to start amping up the votes. On the other hand, those of you who do support NaruSaku are going to need to start defending your position._**

**_Please read and review!_**


	3. Chapter 3

Kiyoshi stood on the rooftop, looking into the room that Naruto was sharing with Ayame. The small boy was exhausted, if his deep sleeping was any indicator, and Ayame had her arms wrapped protectively around his small frame. _A little too small,_ Kiyoshi thought with a light frown. _It seems as if he'd been having trouble trying to get food, or at least food that's nutritious. Not so much that he's been starving, but enough to where it's been affecting his muscle mass and growth. I wonder how many times he's had to survive on ramen?_

Ayame stirred a little, her eyes slowly opening, and, as if sensing Kiyoshi was there, turned her head to stare out the window straight at him. Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow. _Impressive. I've only been here about five seconds, and she already sensed my presence? Either my skills have been declining as of late, or these Konoha ANBU are more powerful than I give them credit for._ Wishing to belay any unneeded thoughts from the girl, Kiyoshi nodded his head to her in silent approval and turned away from the window, pulling out several documents from his coat pocket as he walked.

He examined the documents for a few minutes, going over every last detail that he had been able to glean from what he had found. _The civilians, on the other hand, leave something to be desired with their security. Honestly, this is supposed to be a ninja village, and they expect to keep potential thieves away with a simple combination lock on a safe? Do these people really picture themselves as untouchable, despite all the evidence that could be used to get them executed under village law?_

He perused the documents for a little longer before revealing a small seal on his wrist. A small, unnoticable light flashed, absorbing the documents, before Kiyoshi raised a hand to his chin in thought. _First order of business is to do as Teuchi suggested and find a way to bring their underlings' activity to light without alerting them. I could just go after those three, but something tells me that the moment something goes awry with even one of them, the other two will go to ground and make this harder than it needs to be. They may even try to escape the village, and they'll probably get away with it as well._

He shook his head lightly. _The only problem with the whole thing is that the moment I take any action against any of these people __period,__ they'll start destroying evidence the moment I start to show up. I could try to take care of these places all at once, but Elemental bunshins would leave traces as well as not having my full abilities, and my clan bunshins would use too much energy for something as small as this, even if I can re-absorb them when I'm finished._

Kiyoshi looked around the village, his eyes settling on a few places of minor interest before final resting on Hokage Tower. His eyes widened a little in remembrance, before smacking his forehead in annoyance. _Duh! The Forbidden Scroll of Seals could have something! Father even made a point to mention that to me before I left. Something about needing to see if it's been updated since the beginning of the Third's first reign. Idiot!_

Mentally kicking himself (which, in reality, was no small feat since you needed the most absolute concentration to actually _feel_ the blows in your own subconscious), Kiyoshi took off for the tower, hoping that Hokage had returned there. _After all, there's no reason for the ANBU to be drawn away from their respective duties..._

* * *

Kiyoshi had turned away from the window too quickly after nodding, or else he would have been subjected to a soft smile grace Ayame's features. She watched the place where the boy previously was for a few seconds more before resting her head back onto her pillow. She turned her gaze back onto Naruto's slumbering form, and she gently tightened her arms around him. He just continued snoring away, though his body responded by snuggling into her embrace. Her smiled widened a little more, though it also sported a rather sad twinge to it. _Oh, Naruto. Are you really so alone? Do you just act loudly because you want someone to notice you? Because you want us to help you? I wish we could have done so much more for you, could have given you all that you really deserve for carrying this terrible burden for all these years._

She stroked his hair a little, and then she shifted her head a few times on her pillow before finally resting it, thinking as she closed her eyes again, _But now, someone's here who can, and I've got __a feeling that he'll burn the world to ash before he fails to get what he wants. And Kami help the poor soul stupid enough to get in his way._

For the rest of the night, that same smile never left Ayame's face.

* * *

Landing on the ledge outside the Hokage's office, Kiyoshi smiled a little when he saw the Hokage sitting at his desk while putting a few things away in it, obviously about ready to head home for the night. _Good thing I didn't hesitate, or else I would have missed him._

He leaned forward a little and rapped his finger lightly on the window, alerting the Hokage to his presence. The elderly man turned around and, noticing who it was, opened the window wide enough to allow the slender boy into the room. After latching it shut, he then turned back to Kiyoshi, who was now seated on the other side of the desk. Sarutobi took this as a cue to be seated himself, and he pulled out his pipe and thumbed in a small amount of tobacco into it. As he was striking a match, he asked, "I trust your mission tonight went well, my boy?"

Kiyoshi nodded his head slightly and smirked. "Oh yes. It went well, indeed. Even the barest amounts of info I gathered tonight is more than enough to suit my needs for the moment. Best part is, I get the feeling there's tons more buried deeply, just waiting to be exposed."

Sarutobi smiled lightly (probably more out of relief, Kiyoshi guessed), and finally got the match to ignite. He held it to his pipe and puffed a little to catch the flames on the narcotic. After sighing in contentment, letting out the tobacco fumes from his mouth, he then said, "Good, good. May I ask what you've managed to find in such short notice?"

Kiyoshi moved his hand to the seal on his wrist, causing the documents to appear in his hand. As he laid them out and started to sort them out, he spoke, "First things first - Danzo Shimura. It seems as if Teuchi was right when he told me to be leery of him. His actions alone tonight proved to me that he's interested only in his own motivations."

Sarutobi frowned. "Really? Mind explaining?"

"Danzo did go to that bar tonight, and he and the barman had a very interesting conversation regarding some information about Orochimaru's whereabouts." Sarutobi's eyes widened slightly and opened his mouth to speak, only for Kiyoshi to momentarily raise his hand in a stopping motion. "Don't worry. We'll get to that shortly. What's interesting about this is that the barman has his own information network, as he had mentioned something about a contact of his being wounded – possibly critically – and is now under medical care."

Sarutobi nodded his head slightly. "I'll have some of the medical staff that I trust look through the records discreetly and see if they can turn up anything."

Kiyoshi nodded his head in return. "Good. If you find the man and he doesn't turn out to be a ninja from your own ranks, then see if he can be bought. It would be good to see if we can use this to best of our advantages."

"And if he is a Konoha ninja or cannot be bought?"

Kiyoshi waved his hand dismissively. "Then send him to your T&I department and wring him dry. Once you've squeezed out every bit of info, eliminate him. No point in setting loose a tool that someone else can use, especially one that withholds vital info from his rightful commanders." He then turned his attention back to the various papers. "Now, as for Danzo, what's so suspicious is that he, an Elder for this village, didn't promptly get up and bring this info to you once he paid for it. Instead, he just sat there and calmly sipped his sake for nearly twenty minutes. My guess is that he wants to keep this info to himself for the time being, possibly even use it to try to make contact with Orochimaru and strike a deal with him. My only question is, why? How is it he commands so much when he really should have no power at all?"

There was a small silence in the room, aside from Kiyoshi shuffling the last of his paperwork, before Sarutobi's eyes widened again as he whispered out, "No...he couldn't have..." His face then contorted to a snarl. "He was _ordered_ to..." The Hokage finally slammed a hand onto his desk with a smack and nearly yelled, "Damn it!"

Kiyoshi was surprised enough from this that he actually stopped what he was doing and looked at Sarutobi with confusion. "Something up?"

Sarutobi puffed furiously into his pipe a little in contemplation before answering, "Danzo was once a commander in ANBU and was head of a program involving an elite squadron, simply referred to as the Foundation or, more commonly, the codename 'ROOT'. However, the difference between his ninja and the normal ANBU was that he used a program that involved suppressing the ROOT ninja's emotions completely and putting them through extensive physical, mental, and chakra conditioning. The end result of the project produced soldiers that were brutally efficient and extremely loyal to Danzo – and Danzo only."

Kiyoshi frowned slightly as he narrowed his eyes at Sarutobi. "He was..._usurping_ the position of leader from the Hokage?"

Sarutobi nodded. "When he first started the program, it was during the beginning of the Third Shinobi War – a time when we needed good soldiers for the front lines that would follow their commander's orders. After the war, however, he was ordered by the Fourth Hokage to disband the group, as he had found the practices to be too barbaric and claimed that a shinobi needs his emotions at least at a basic level."

Seeing Kiyoshi nod slightly at this in agreement, he continued, "Danzo complied, though stubbornly, and officially disbanded ROOT. Unofficially, though..." Sarutobi sighed a little. "I was never able to find any proof, but I had always had suspicions of Danzo secretly keeping the group together. The actions of that one ninja who formed the first mob against Naruto today suggest this even more."

Kiyoshi crossed his arms and then raised a hand to his chin in thought. After a few seconds of silence, he then looked back at Sarutobi. "Has the body been examined yet?"

The older man shook his head. "No. For now, we're keeping it hidden in the morgue at T&I. Why?"

"I may wish to be present for the autopsy, but if I'm not, then you need to make sure that the coroners responsible look for everything and anything that seems odd. Did Danzo have any special traits that were common amongst his ninja aside from the unquestioning loyalty?"

Both males thought for a few minutes, hoping to come to some conclusion to this riddle. Sarutobi then muttered, "But just how does he gain their loyalty? It would take time to break a person's will to that degree, but somehow Danzo was able to produce them at a astounding rate. And I can't imagine Danzo willing to promise them anything in return for their service, so bribery is a definite out."

Kiyoshi then picked up on his train of thought. "There's only so many children you can legally take from orphanages, and kidnapping too many would arouse suspicion as well as bring formal charges that not even he can sweep under the rug, especially if the Daimyo gets involved. There's no amount of genjutsu that can produce those kinds of responses from an individual, and even if that was the case, those would wear off over time or could be broken by a genjutsu master."

Kiyoshi and Sarutobi then both widened their eyes in realization and looked at each other before exclaiming, "Seals!"

Sarutobi then continued in a low voice, "It makes sense! Danzo is a mid-level fuinjutsu master. It wouldn't be that hard to possibly create some version of a seal that would identify who his ninja are."

Kiyoshi nodded his head, looking quickly to the floor in thought. "Then that means somewhere on that body, there has to be some sort of seal, maybe even more than one, that helped Danzo train his ROOT and keep them loyal." He looked back to Sarutobi. "I want that corpse searched thoroughly. I don't care if you have to chop it to little bits, so long as you find something that proves this."

Sarutobi nodded his head rapidly and began writing on a few order slips. After finishing one for T&I, he set it off to the side and focused on the other. "I'm also recalling our resident seal master to help examine the seals. If what we think is true, then he's going to do more help here than anywhere else." He looked up and smirked at the young boy. "And if we managed to find out all the contacts that Danzo's been using..."

Kiyoshi returned the smirk. "...then we are able to further Konoha's own spy network. Knowing Danzo, he's probably got informants located in places that your own network has had trouble reaching."

As Sarutobi finished the order, Kiyoshi crossed his arms and raised a hand to his chin. Thinking deeply, he asked as Sarutobi sealed the order for delivery, "Your resident seal master...that is still currently Jiraiya, the Toad Sannin, correct?" Sarutobi silently nodded in affirmation. Kiyoshi hummed in thought before then asking, "Does he have a copy of the seals that the Fourth used to contain the Kyuubi?"

Sarutobi's head snapped up so quickly that Kiyoshi was curious for a second on whether or not to call a medic. The elderly man stared at the boy for a few seconds, his mouth wide open yet not a sound was able to leave it, before he raised his pipe up to his mouth and began puffing on it again at a rapid pace.

Kiyoshi had to refrain from rolling his eyes. _Does this man breathe tobacco instead of oxygen? I understand that my presence is disconcerting enough, but his rather rapid consumption of tobacco starting from this morning is going to send him to the grave in a week if he doesn't cool it._ Outwardly, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is there something bothering you, Lord Hokage?"

This seemed to snap the man's mind back to reality, and he said in a low voice, "It's just such a request is rather...odd to ask, even for one such as you. May I be so bold as to inquire just what you need to see such a seal for?"

Kiyoshi's eyes flashed dangerously with annoyance and a little anger, and Sarutobi realized that maybe this was better to not ask. After all, if the boy really thought it necessary to tell him, he would do so.

However, before Sarutobi could take back his words, the boy crossed his arms and said harshly, "Now, you see, at this moment, I have two conflicting emotions running through me right now, and I don't know which one of them I should listen to. One is curiosity and amusement, causing that part of me to wonder just why you feel the need to be so protective of the boy when your actions for the last six years of his life have only made him become a target for some of the more stupid people in this village."

The index finger on his right hand began tapping on his left forearm, which Sarutobi began to watch rather nervously and caused Kiyoshi no small amount of amusement of just how easy it was to get into the mind of the fabled "God of Shinobi". He then continued, "The other is annoyance and anger that you would dare question my motives, making me want to kill you and be rid of another shinobi insect that dares to think that they are more powerful than they truly are."

Kiyoshi walked towards the edge of Sarutobi's desk and leaned in towards the old man's face, causing the old man think, _Is this kid really only nine? No kid at that age should be tall enough to even lean on my desk this way, let alone intimidate me!_ The boy just stared the older man, his eyes devoid of any emotion as they watched Sarutobi sweat buckets. "I truly do not care if you or the rest of this Gods-forsaken village die. The Emperor does, however, which is why I have tried my hardest to not simply smash in the skull if anyone who gets in my way. I do detest killing, believe it or not, but I'd rather kill everyone and save myself the trouble of finding any decent people in any of the shinobi villages if all I'm going to get is resistance from the people I'm trying to help."

He then backed away slightly from Sarutobi before the old man suffered a heart attack and continued, "I do sense that you are a good person, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as well as a good leader. I also have no doubt that there are many good people in this village, despite its more idiotic citizens. Make no mistake, however. I will eliminate _anyone_, including you, if I feel leaving you alive will cause problems for the Emperor, innocents be damned. Do I make myself clear to you?"

Sarutobi rapidly nodded his head, hoping to end this line of conversation. Thankfully, Kiyoshi took this as an opportunity to get back on track. "You'll find out why I need such a thing soon enough. Until then, I'll tell you this: if things had gone as my clan had wanted them to, then right now, I would be discussing matters with Minato Namikaze while you would be continuing to enjoy your deserved retirement."

Sarutobi looked at him confusedly and opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off again. "You'll find out what I mean later. In the mean time, I've copied and organized all the info I've gotten on the shopkeepers and their connection to the council. Please read it over, though I do ask that you refrain from taking action against these people for the time being."

Sarutobi nodded and took the stack of papers before looking back at the boy. "And as for you?"

A small devilish smile appeared on Kiyoshi's young face. "I need the Scroll of Seals. My clan needs to check and see what updates have been made to it. By the time you've read all the info I've given you, I should be done with it."

Raising his eyebrow a little, Sarutobi simply shrugged and moved to one of the bookcases on the side of the office. He looked over the shelves for a second before pulling out a book and, biting his thumb, wiping some of his blood onto a seal. As he closed the book, a giant scroll appeared in the middle of the room, causing Kiyoshi to smile. "Rather ingenious. No one would think to look inside a book, and I take it that the seal only reacts to the blood of the Hokage, making it so that even finding the seal is useless. Not bad at all."

Sarutobi smiled in return to the boy's words. "Well, just because I'm old doesn't mean that I've lost any of my cunning."

Kiyoshi laughed and slung the scroll over his shoulders. "Got a private room where I can look this over?"

The smile never leaving his face, Sarutobi simply walked over to his desk and wiped his still slightly-bleeding hand onto a seal under one of the drawers. In response, a door appeared on the wall opposite the bookcase.

Kiyoshi's smile never left either as he walked over to the door and opened it. "I have a feeling that now that we understand each other, we're going to get along just fine." The door then promptly closed and vanished from sight.

Sarutobi settled down back into his chair and sighed a little. Glancing at the papers, he picked them up and began to skim through them. His smile returned and took on a somewhat evil tint as he continued to read. _Oh yes, my boy, we'll get along VERY nicely. Continue to help me get this info, and I follow you to the ends of the earth._

Sarutobi let out an evil laugh and said, "Oh, Danzo. I've been looking forward to this day."

* * *

Upon entering the door, Kiyoshi found himself standing in a white room that contained nothing and yet seemed to stretch for miles. The door closed and stood in the middle of this expanse, disconnected from any wall. _Hmm. Seals that create a time/space expansion, giving the user a large enough area to practice any jutsu they need to without the unnecessary property damage. I wonder whose idea this was? One of the Hokage's? Or was it us?_

Shrugging off the thought since in the end it wasn't really important, Kiyoshi pulled the giant scroll off of his back and, gripping the end of the closed flap, threw it away from him while tugging it open. The end of the scroll fell to the ground and rolled itself open, creating a length that continued growing for a few seconds before finally settling around ten feet away from him.

Setting the end onto the ground while tugging the scroll a little to flatten it, Kiyoshi then knelt down and began to look the scroll over. _I remember studying a little of the copy that we made of the scroll before, so I'll just move down and start with the newer stuff. If it's expansive, then I'll probably __just want to copy the entire scroll anyway. Gods only know that Grandmother would never let me hear the end of it if I miss something that had been added on to one of the earlier techniques._

Moving down the scroll, glancing at the occasional entry to confirm where he was, he finally came to rest at the area where the Third would have first begun to add his own entries. A few were interesting, though they weren't exactly that ground-breaking or useful for certain situations that may arise. One seal, however, caught Kiyoshi's eye, and he frowned as he read it. _Impure Resurrection technique? Who was the fool that..._ His train of thought was stopped when he read the creator's name. _Ah, the Snake traitor. That explains so much._

Deciding to keep that seal in mind, he continued down the scroll and finally reached the Fourth's contributions. The amount that the man put in was rather impressive, ranging from theories on how to create or improve certain jutsu and whether or not these attempts were successful to the jutsu themselves.

It was by perusing some of these theories that Kiyoshi came across an entry that was eerily similar to his own thoughts earlier. _"__**In my few short years of being the Hokage, I have always wondered just why the bunshins we create via elemental techniques do not have the same abilities or knowledge that the original possesses. In my studies, I believe I have discovered at least a reason for this, if not the why. It seems as if the bunshins are restricted by the actual limits of the element they are created from, which therefore restricts the usefulness of each one. This, of course, would then explain the reason why an elemental bunshin is only able to use jutsu that is the same as their respective element. A fire cannot create water nor earth; it is only able create more fire. Still, the relations between the elements is still some thing to continue researching, as I feel we are only scratching the surface of what we can possibly attain.**_

_** There is also the obvious problem of residue when these bunshins complete their missions that were given and disperse. Fire bunshins burn the area around them in a quick flash; water bunshins leave a puddle of water; earth bunshins, a pile of rock and dirt; thunder bunshins let out a flash of electricity that may fry anything electronic in the area; and air bunshins let out a gust of wind that displaces anything light enough to moved by the gust's power.**_

_** Of course, this is rather irrelevant to anyone who cannot perform the elemental bunshins for whatever their reason, or do not wish to bother with the elementals. But I have come to the belief that the regular bunshin – the one that is merely an illusion – is outdated and a little useless. It serves no other purpose than to be a distraction, and that distraction can be nullified for those able to tell the difference and/or sense the creator's chakra. Granted, it is perfect for the ordinary genin to learn and sets the basis for future techniques, but it is useless for someone who is ranked high-chuunin or jounin as well as those who possess very high chakra levels, no matter what kind of chakra control they may have. Why this village insists that it is a necessary technique and considers it to be one of the techniques required to graduate is something not even I can comprehend. Yet the civilians will not have it; they demand to be more properly "represented" in the shinobi forces, which is simply them claiming that the ratio of civilian ninja to clan ninja needs to be ten to one. Of course, the only way that can be accomplished is by lowering the standards of the academy and demanding that only three D-rank techniques be the requirement to graduate.**_

_** In order to solve the problems of elemental bunshins and create the ultimate bunshin, I actually turned to the shadows. A shadow of a person will mimic that person's actions no matter what, and I looked to apply this concept towards my technique. Through this concept, I created the **__**Kage Bunshin no jutsu**__**. This bunshin knows all the creator's techniques and is able to perform them flawlessly. When they dispel, the most that is left behind is simply colorless, odorless smoke, and the more chakra control a person has, the less there is. In theory, a person with perfect chakra control levels for this technique should create bunshins that generate no smoke whatsoever. Even better, what the bunshin learns will be sent back to the original, making it perfect for learning new jutsu as well as chakra control, since chakra is part mental energy and its control is actually **__**instinctive.**_

_** There is, unfortunately, a downside to this technique that I have been unable to perfect. The necessary chakra to perform this technique for the untrained user is more than half of the creator's chakra. For a genin or an academy student, this technique could be dangerously exhausting if not lethal. I know that there is something that I'm missing that could lower this requirement and make it so that only a small percentage of the original's chakra is used while making the clone's levels the same as the original. Unfortunately, I cannot find the time to do so, but as it stands for the moment, the technique is fine for now. I will teach it to some of the jounin that I trust in a controlled environment and see what the results may be."**_

Kiyoshi glanced at the directions for performing the jutsu and smirked before closing his dark blue eyes. _Don't worry, Fourth. I'll finish what you started. _In a low voice, Kiyoshi said, "_**Manadoraibu**__!"*_

As he opened his eyes again, his irises showed a glowing sky-blue color, and he resumed reading the technique, the smirk only growing wider until it became a full-blown mischievous grin. _Let's see...if I were to take the handseal and adjust the positioning of my fingers and hands in the technique...then I need to visualize that same position in my mind...and then finally apply a random low chakra amount..._

Kiyoshi heard a soft step behind himself and then felt a hand touch his shoulder. The grin still on his face, he turned and looked behind himself to see that same grin mirrored on his own face on another him as well as on forty-nine others. The first bunshin then crossed his arms. "Well, boss, it looks like you've proven yourself smarter than a genius."

Fifty-one identical laughs resounded around the white room.

* * *

After reading the last of the pages Kiyoshi left him, Sarutobi leaned back into his chair and sighed, a smile still on his face. Looking over towards the clock, he realized that it was past eleven. _It's that late already? I hope Kiyoshi isn't hurt or anything like that. After all, it's been nearly two hours. If he doesn't come out within the next half an hour, I'll head in there and check on him._

No sooner than he finished his train of thought did the door reappear and open, revealing Kiyoshi with a smirk on his face and his irises literally glowing. Sarutobi raised his eyebrows at the boy's new look and said, "Uh, Kiyoshi? Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

Kiyoshi stared at him with a confused look for a second before those same eyes widened in realization and then closed. They then opened a second later and revealed those same deep blue from earlier.

At the Third's questioning gaze, he simply said, "Bloodline."

Rather than question him, Sarutobi grinned and responded with, "Then you'd better be wary who you show that to. If anyone on the civilian council sees it, they'll do anything to ensure that this village receives it."

Kiyoshi just laughed. "Let's see them try." He then walked over to the desk and set the Scroll of Seals onto it. "When you get a chance, you may wish to check over a few of the jutsus. I felt it prudent to leave behind a few notes for future readers."

Sarutobi's eyes lit up a little, and he glanced at the scroll for a second before then smiling again at Kiyoshi. "I'll be sure to do so first thing in the morning."

"Get some sleep, old man. You're going to need it." With that, Kiyoshi then vanished via a shunshin.

Sarutobi stared at the giant scroll for a second, contemplating peeking inside to at least see what was added but then decided against it. _Sleep is more important now. I'll do as I said and look at it in the morning._ Resummoning the stand from its seal, he then placed the scroll on it and watched it vanish before locking everything up for the night. As he exited the door, he let out a quiet chuckle. _Kiyoshi, my boy, if you continue to help this village like this, then it won't just be me who will follow you through the fire._

* * *

Kiyoshi reappeared at the Ichiraku residence for a second to make sure that everything was still peaceful before shunshining off again to a small clearing in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. A few predators nearby sensed his presence, but a quick burst of KI sent them all running. He then crossed his arms and stood there for a few minutes, quietly observing his surroundings for anything else he may have missed – though if there was anything still there that could pose a threat to him, it would have already made its move.

His musings were cut short when three figures shunshined into the clearing. They were wearing thick black cloaks that covered them from head to toe, and covering their faces were blank masks that Kiyoshi knew contained voice scramblers. _Can't be too careful, after all. There may be someone hiding nearby that we haven't sensed._ There were really no other identifiers to set them apart, though one was shorter than the other two.

He motioned for them to be at ease while saying, "Let's wait for the others to show up first before beginning the report." The figures quietly nodded in response.

Their patience was rewarded when two more figures, one taller than the other, appeared via shunshin. Again, there was nothing to identify them, but to the trained eye, one could see that these two were women, judging by their stances and the way they held themselves. The taller one then spoke in the garbled voice of the scrambler, "We apologize for being late, my lord. We had to make sure that no one knew where we were going."

Kiyoshi waved this off. "Be at ease. I know it's imperative that you keep your secrets and will do whatever is necessary to ensure this. At least now, we may begin the report. First off, where is the trainee?"

The shorter woman responded, "Sleeping, sir. We couldn't bring the trainee with us since it would look suspicious for someone so young to be up this late, especially in this location."

Kiyoshi nodded at this. "Good. Best to keep them under the radar for now. We don't know who may be listening right now. Have they at least began their mission on time?"

"Affirmative. They have infiltrated the establishment as ordered and have blended in with the rest of the group. For now, they are keeping a low profile and observing the others before making any sort of move."

"Keep it that way for now. I want no attention drawn to them for any reason. Have them wait for further orders later on."

The two women nodded, and Kiyoshi then turned to the three men, addressing the shorter one. "What has your scouting turned up?"

The shorter man, codenamed Sand, saluted and responded with, "Shockingly enough, quite a bit. Most of the Konoha patrols are routine and easy to slip through. The gate guards hardly pay attention or are easy to get past. A small invasion force could simply sneak its way into the village without any trouble. Inside the village, however, is another story. The ANBU that are not on missions can be regularly 'seen' incognito amongst the crowds as well as hidden in various places around the village. We nearly missed a few of them, they were hidden so well."

Kiyoshi crossed his arms in thought. "What about getting into the buildings?"

"Again, a little difficult while trying to avoid ANBU's gaze, but once inside, easy to move about. Mostly chuunin populate those places, making it easy to get past."

Kiyoshi snorted. "Let me guess. Civilian ninja?"

The men would have appeared a little startled if their masks were not in place. "Yes, lord. How did you find out?"

Kiyoshi chuckled a little before saying, "It seems that during his reign, the Fourth Hokage lamented the civilian ninja to clan ninja ratio. Something about their council wanting more of a presence in their forces. My guess is that these men and women do the barest amount of training to get by for their levels." Shaking his head in amusement, he then continued, "Alright, so in summary, the ANBU do a good job in watching out for threats, but that all means very little if the civies don't do their part and step up their game. I'll have to let Sarutobi know about intensifying the training programs for all ninja. If they're lucky, that may get rid of those who don't take this seriously and may even show us some people who can be taken in for info."

The men simply nodded in affirmation, though the man speaking looked as if there was more. Kiyoshi then said, "Is there more, Sand?"

Sand nodded his head. "Amongst the ANBU, we noticed a few odd things. Most of their behavior was normal and perhaps even commendable in their vigilance, but a few seemed to act a little too strangely for it to be small quirks."

Kiyoshi frowned a little. "Explain."

"Their movements, while smooth and fluid, almost seemed mechanical, and their voices almost sounded monotone when they spoke. When we knocked one out, we searched his pack and found a small scroll containing a blank ANBU mask with the word 'Ne' written in kanji on the forehead and a tipless tanto. When we then put the seal on him to modify his memory of the event, we noticed a small seal at the base of his neck on his spine, completely hidden under his armor. We applied the seal, but ensured that no trace of it could be found should the man be checked."

Kiyoshi's eyes widened as he then stared off into the distance, his mind racing. "ROOT..."

The women tensed at this word, though the men stared at him confusedly. The tallest one, codenamed Beast, asked, "Sir?"

Kiyoshi shook his head and turned his head back to them. "The Third told me of a rogue faction in Konoha called the Foundation, or simply ROOT. They're led by a man named Danzo Shimura, who used certain training methods that turned his division into effective killing machines with no emotion. Your description of their behavior fits the profile, and Sarutobi and I had figured that the man's probably using seals to train his soldiers, so the seal on the ANBU's neck fits as well. Do you remember the mask that the man was wearing?"

Beast thought for a moment before saying, "It was most definitely a monkey. I made sure to check before leaving."

Kiyoshi turned to the two women. "Scarlet, Violet, does this ring any bells?"

"It's impossible, sir," responded the shorter woman, codenamed Violet. "Monkey is the Third's mask, given to him in honor of his ascension to Hokage since he never served in the ANBU forces. ANBU regulations state that under no circumstances is there to be a second mask given out, meaning that no one can use said mask until the first owner dies or retires from active duty permanently."

Kiyoshi nodded in understanding. "Which means that so long as the Third is still alive, then that mask shouldn't have been copied." He turned to the three men. "The next time you sneak into the village, I want that man taken out. Kill him if you have to, but avoid damaging the skin too much. I need his body intact for an autopsy. Once you've killed him, seal his body into a scroll and then find a way to discreetly get it to me. I'll present it to the Third for his T&I department to examine. In the meantime, continue probing their defenses. Ensure that you've seen to every single possibility of someone sneaking in. Anything that's outright suspicious, report it to me as quickly as you can. I don't want to allow our opponents to be able to cover their tracks."

The three men nodded and then shunshined off. Kiyoshi then turned to the two women. "In the meantime, observe the shopkeepers and key civilians. If any of them are acting off or doing something that can lead us to the heart of this mess, then get me the info as best you can. Just make sure you don't compromise your cover."

With that, the women nodded and shunshined off themselves. Kiyoshi stood there for a few minutes, thinking over this info. _Shit. If some of Danzo's men have infiltrated the ANBU, then that means he'll find out about me sooner than I'd hoped. The only miracle I could hope for is that the impostors haven't had the chance to report in yet. Sarutobi needs to be informed about this soon. Maybe I can-_

Suddenly, a sharp pain began to shoot through Kiyoshi's left arm, soon traveling through his entire body. Letting out a small cry, he fell to the ground and shuddered as the pain coursed through him. _Damn it, no! Not now. Please, not now!_

Struggling to get body under control yet failing somewhat as the pain continued to travel through him, Kiyoshi gripped his arm tightly, waiting for it all to pass. In his grip, the sleeve of his hoodie began to rip away until the skin showed, revealing the number '384' tattooed on his forearm. The tattoo was glowing a bright red, and the skin was raised in puffy irritation, causing it to hurt even more.

Half delirious from the pain, a kunai flashed into Kiyoshi's hand, and he raised it into the air, pointing it at his stomach. Just as he was about to let it swing down, he then heard a melodic voice say quietly, "_No, Kiyoshi."_

Kiyoshi dropped the kunai in shock, and it flew out of his hand harmlessly. He then slowly turned his head toward the voice. His mind hazy, he saw a beautiful blue-eyed woman with golden hair flowing around her, some of it raised slightly into the air. She wore a white dress that had golden embroidery running down the front to her waist and then around it. The dress hugged her slender form and showed off her curves, and a somewhat transparent light gold shawl was wrapped around across her arms and behind her back. Atop her head sat a crown with a veil of the same material as the shawl attached to it. Finishing off the look were golden armbands on her upper arms and a bracelet on each wrist. An ephemeral white glow surrounded her as she gazed upon him with a sad look.

Kiyoshi, despite his delirium, managed to whisper out, "L-Lady Cosmos..." and get to his feet. He slowly began to walk towards her, his hand back to gripping his forearm, but another jolt of extreme pain shot through him, causing him to cry out again as his legs gave out on him. He began to fall back to the ground before feeling an arm snake around him and stop his descent. He then heard a deep voice say as he was set back to the ground, **"Easy, boy. Lie still."**

As he was set to the ground, Kiyoshi looked over his shoulder to see a tall demon standing there. Red horns came out of the sides of his head while two much smaller green ones came out of the front of his head. A red glow came out of the creature's eyes, and there was a row of clearly-visible sharp teeth. His skin was a mixture of brown, black and red, each color often fading into one of the others, and in the center of his heavily-muscled chest sat a red gem. Four arms came out of his shoulders, and on his back were two demonic wings. He had no clothing save for a loincloth with a dragon pattern on the front, and a long tail came out behind him. There were three demonic faces on him, two on his knees and one acting like a belt for his loincloth, but they were simply decoration.

Kiyoshi managed to let out a strangled, "Lord C-Chaos..." before he was set onto the ground. He felt Cosmos kneel at this head and reach out towards his arm. Her soft hand touched the red skin and let out a white light, and instantly Kiyoshi felt relief flow through his body. After a few seconds to get back his bearings, he raised his arm to see the numbers back to their normal black-colored state. Sighing in relief, he lowered his arm and closed his eyes for a minute, listening to the wind as it breezed by.

Kiyoshi then sat up and looked to the two beings, who were know standing side by side. Bowing his head in reverence, he rasped out, "My God, my Goddess, for what reason have you decided to honor me with your presence?"

Cosmos smiled a soft smile and said, "_Oh, Kiyoshi. You know that you do not have to act this way. After all, this is not the first time that we have appeared to you. Be at ease, my young one._"

Chaos snorted. **"How ironic that of all the warriors we have between us, it is the one who is ****chosen to be both our champions that shows us any reverence."** Cosmos directed a small scowl towards him, but the demon simply shrugged and crossed his arms. **"In any case, boy, it was foolish of you not to return home. Your mission could have been on hold until this phase had passed. As it stands now, if you do not leave this place in time, you may become a danger to all those around you."**

Kiyoshi shook his head and stood from the ground. "No, my Lord. It had to be now. I..._feel_ something on the horizon that tells me that if I'm not here when the moment comes, there will be much that will be lost. We have all come too far to lose now."

Chaos raised a non-existant eyebrow. **"A feeling? How interesting. Was this feeling given to you through that deal you had foolishly made when you were younger?"**

Kiyoshi's hand reflexively went to the tattoo, but he scowled. "This feeling is the same as the one that caused me to _make_ that deal."

**"Which then makes me reiterate the point that you may cause more harm than good at this point. Let Sephiroth or Cloud handle this. You need to be secured for the next stage, or else your bloodline-"**

Kiyoshi's eyes flashed, and he stared at the demonic god with eyes each possessing a symbol of the gods before him. He then growled out with an otherwordly voice, _**"Do not push me, God of Discord! I have been through hell and back to get to this level of power, and I WILL do what I feel is right! I will not burden my Father and Mother with the responsibilities that I RIGHTFULLY EARNED!"**_

The two males stared at each other for a few seconds, before Cosmos gently laid a hand on Chaos' arm, causing him to snap out of his rage and look at her. She then walked over to Kiyoshi and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, snapping the boy out of his trance as well. Her voice drifted across the clearing. "_Calm yourselves, the both of you. It does not matter what does or doesn't need to be done at this point."_ She looked at the demon. _"Chaos, my love, you must calm down. What has been done is done, and there have been benefits to all events before this, even if you do not see them as such."_

Chaos slowly nodded his head, acceding to Cosmos' words, and Cosmos then turned to Kiyoshi. _"However, Kiyoshi, Chaos does speak the truth about your bloodline. If you do not take the proper precautions, you may in fact do more harm than good, despite all that you have accomplished. Please, you must be mindful of yourself. Even if you feel it to be a slight on your honor, you must call for your parents' help if you cannot control your power."_

Kiyoshi lowered his gaze, his eyes returning to normal, and he said, "Yes, my Goddess. I will do as you both suggest and be leery of the time to come."

Cosmos smiled in return and gently pulled him into a hug before then releasing him and walking back over to Chaos. Resting a hand on his arm, she said, _"Come, Chaos. Let us go back."_

The demon nodded his head, and he disappeared in a flash of flame and darkness. Cosmos looked back to the young boy for a moment, and she then disappeared with a flash of white light.

Kiyoshi ran a hand over his forearm and sighed. _I know it's close, but I can't abandon all that I have worked for just because my body decides it's time to reach the next level. Still, it's only the early stages of the symptoms. I should have plenty of time left to finish what I need to do here and get back to the compound._

With that thought, he turned back towards the village and, not trusting his abilities quite yet, jumped into the trees and sped away.

* * *

* Manadoraibu = Manadrive

**A/N: I know that I keep on switching between English and Japanese translations for certain things, but the thing is that I at least wish to keep the names of the jutsus and bloodlines in their original forms. As for the other stuff, I'm just not confident enough to try using the Japanese suffixes, and it's a little frustrating to keep on trying to remember the ANBU animal names when you don't see them all that often.**

**As for the plot itself, yes, for those of you who have figured it out, this story is actually a Naruto/Dissidia crossover. The reason why it's in the Naruto section and not the other? Because to be honest:**

**1. Naruto will not be paired off with anyone from Dissidia or the Final Fantasies (and for that matter, neither will Kiyoshi)**

**2. The storyline is not really set in the Dissidia universe. The explanation for this will come in a future chapter soon.**

**3. I just don't think very many people really are interested in reading the crossovers, which is a shame because there are some good ones out there. To try and get more of a reader base, I felt it more prudent to put this in an area with high traffic.**

**As for the pairings, Sakura is no longer in last place now in the poll; Hinata is. I'm starting to lean towards a Kiyoshi/Sakura pairing with Naruto/Hinata/Ino, but the choice is still up to the readers. For now though, I'm going to put this story in the Naruto/Hinata section. Remember readers, the winner of the poll goes to KIYOSHI, not Naruto. I'm going to leave the poll up for one more chappie, and then I'm taking it off the list. After that, I'm going to start to solidifying the positions in the chapters. So remember to vote, and please review. I love hearing your thoughts about this.**


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto's eyes opened slowly, his mind trying to recollect what had just happened and where he was. _Let me think...I had left my apartment to go out and buy some food from one of the stores that don't really mind me. After buying all my groceries, I had gone to the park to see if anyone wanted to play, but no one was there. I hung around for a little while, but everyone else must have been busy, so I left to go find something else to do. I went to one of the training grounds and saw one of the ANBU training, so I watched him for a little while but then left before he noticed me and might have gotten angry. As I was heading back to my apartment, one of the villagers must have gotten angry at me...but WHY did he get angry? I didn't do anything all day, and I wasn't even close to him when he shouted. What was it he said again? Oh yeah, it was, "__**Look, the demon brat has a weapon! Get him!"**__ But that can't be right, 'cause I wasn't holding anything in my hands. In fact, my hands were in my pockets when I was walking by. But the crowd got angry anyway, and they started to yell at me and chase me for a little while. They finally caught up to me and surrounded me, and I think they were going to hurt me until..._

The young boy's eyes widened as he remembered his rescue and the black-clothed boy who had killed the man who shouted. _That's right! And then we both went to Ichiraku's after, and Ayame-nee-san said I could stay with them last night. But I wonder what had happened to that older kid? And why did he bother saving me?_

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted when the door opened, and Ayame stepped into the room. Noticing her young guest now awake, a smile graced her face as she walked over and ruffled his hair. "Good morning, sleepyhead! You must have been really tired from yesterday. Not even my yelling about free ramen had woken you up."

Naruto smiled in return and allowed the older girl to hug him for a second. When she pulled away, he then looked up at her with a confused frown. "Ayame-nee-san, where did that boy go?"

Ayame stared at him for a second, trying to remember what he was talking about, before she realized and smiled a little. "Kiyoshi-san had left to go continue his business with Hokage-dono, but he checked in after you had gone to sleep to see how you were doing."

Naruto smiled again, thinking that maybe the older boy would look for him again and be willing to play with the young Jinchuuriki. _Maybe I can finally make another friend._

As Ayame gently took his hand and started to lead him out of the room, she asked, "Naruto, do you remember what happened yesterday? Kiyoshi-san said he had to save you from some people the other day, and we have all been wondering what he has been talking about."

Her arm suddenly felt resistance, and she looked down to see Naruto standing there, his head down and his bangs shadowing his face. Ayame knelt down and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto..."

She was shocked to see a few tears run down the boy's face, and he whispered out in a tone that broke the ramen waitress's heart, "Why, Nee-san? What did I do to them? Why do they all hate me? Even the ones who don't do anything wrong to me, they still have that look in their eyes, like I'm some kind of evil creature. Why do I deserve so much hate?"

He let out a choked sob, and Ayame pulled him closer into another hug, feeling the burden of sorrow that weighed heavily on the small boy's shoulders. _Oh Naruto..._

* * *

Kiyoshi walked down the street, heading towards the Hokage Tower to begin his plans for the day. There was a scowl on his face, and he knew that the ANBU watching him were probably counting in their heads how many body bags were going to be needed today. _If I had it my way, there probably wouldn't be enough. What these people have done..._

* * *

_**Flashback**_

Kiyoshi , after being informed by ANBU, stood outside the apartment building that Naruto lived in. A frown was starting to form on the boy's face as he took in his surroundings. _The boy needs the utmost protection, and the council sticks him in a building that's near the edge of the red light district? The building doesn't look too bad, but could simply be a ruse. Looking at some of the other buildings, they all seem like they're either condemned, or no one's used them in years. What makes this building so special? At the very least, they should have put Naruto in some ninja apartments to keep a better eye on him. ANBU can't be everywhere at once, and some of the more seedier residents could also prove to be a distraction._

Shaking his head, Kiyoshi walked through the front doors and looked around before kneeling down and placing a hand flat onto the floor. He then let out a pulse of chakra and felt it travel through the building. _As I thought. The building has been restructured. Someone came into this place and fixed it up about two years ago. Rather hastily, if some areas of the building are anything to go by. The main supports have been replaced as well as certain others, but the rest seem to be rotting or carry some form of damage. Most of the apartments are unused as well, save for the area that Naruto seems to live._

Kiyoshi straightened himself and started for Naruto's apartment, which seemed to be located on the top floor. As he ascended the stairs, he took a chance and opened a few of the doors to the empty apartments. Sure enough, there was no evidence anyone had lived there for years, save for the few random squatters needing a place to sleep for the night. The floors were either cracked, burned, or had some water damage, and the lights flickered constantly. Aside from some bits of trash, the rooms sat completely empty. Satisfied with his earlier assumptions, Kiyoshi continued up the stairs and soon reached the top floor.

Looking at the lock, he realized that it was top quality and near impossible to pick for the normal shinobi. _Ah, but I'm not normal, am I?_ Smirking to himself, he pulled out a pair of lockpicks from his jacket and slowly began to find the lock's sweet spot before being finally rewarded with a small _click_. He pushed the door open, and then frowned when he felt the door. He knocked on it a little and sent a small pulse into it, thinking, _It's reinforced. It would either take someone with rather high physical strength or medium-powered ninjutsu to break down this door. No doubt that all the walls are similar._ He touched one of the walls. _Yep, they are. Well, at least it's nice to now that someone is taking this somewhat seriously._

Stepping into the room, Kiyoshi looked around, evaluating everything present. _The furniture is sturdy and somewhat comfortable, though it looks like it's still some of the cheaper stuff or it was previously owned if the stains are anything to go by._ He looked around a little more before then entering the kitchen. Kiyoshi walked over to the oven and glanced at it quickly before walking over to the cupboards and opening them. _Several boxes of cup ramen, a box of cereal, and a couple cans of soup. _He then opened the fridge and looked in. _A carton of milk that's a week from expiring, a couple pieces of fruit and vegetables, and a few bottled waters. Not exactly a good example of a well-balanced diet. Chances are, some stores only sell him the ramen, which would explain his obsession with it – it's the only food that he's able to buy regularly and therefore familiar with. Whether it's all coincidence or on purpose, though, still remains to be seen._

Kiyoshi closed the fridge door and walked into the boy's bedroom. Like the living room, it was mostly bare, save for a few knickknacks here and there, but it had the essential furniture. Kiyoshi walked over and pressed on the bed a little. _The bed is pretty old. It's still comfortable enough for a good night's sleep, but it's going to need to be replaced sometime in the next year._

He glanced around the rest of the room before heading over to the door. Before he passed through it, something caught his eye. He looked over to the corner to see a floorboard that seemed disjointed from the rest of the floor. Frowning a little, he walked over to it and felt it with his hand. It seemed loose, so Kiyoshi reached for it's edge and grasped it, lifting it from its place. His eyes widened when he looked at what was hidden there.

Various pictures laid inside the small hole, as well as a couple small toys. Picking up one of the pictures, he looked closely at it.

The picture showed Naruto, around his current age, with the Hokage's hat on his small head and a large smile on his face. The elderly man was sitting off to his side, a smile on his own wrinkled face, and Ayame was in the background waving happily into the camera while Teuchi was laughing.

Putting the picture down, Kiyoshi wondered, _This seems to be one of Naruto's happier moments, and none of the people in the picture are dead. Why hide it then? You'd think that a boy with such a miserable life would want to put these pictures in a place that he would see them often._ He then picked up one of the toys – a small fox plushie – and examined it. _This doll looks hardly used. It's worn it enough to show that he's slept with it by him, but it looks like he was trying to preserve it. Again, why? His apartment is secure enough, so he shouldn't have to worry about anyone stealing it. I mean, the front door is strong enough to hold off a mid-level chuunin and-_

Something clicked in Kiyoshi's head as he looked up at the wall in shock. He then scowled and gently put the toy back into the hole and replaced the floorboard, making sure it stayed hidden. Getting up, he rushed back into the living room and examined the walls that were adjacent to the door before examining the door itself. _These walls, and the door as well - they feel disjointed from the rest of the floor, like they've been repaired before in the recent months._ Thinking for a few minutes, he then walked into the kitchen and looked at the fridge closely, before his chakra pulse revealed something that made his eyes widen. _This fridge has a seal on it! It's attached to the cooling unit, sending a small electrical charge into it. Not enough to blow it out, but enough to cause the unit to not work properly. That milk has probably already gone bad, and the produce must have been bought recently or else they would be starting to rot as well._ He then walked over to the oven and did the same thing. _This oven also has two seals on it as well. One is attached to the burners, causing the heat to not work properly. Someone is probably trying to put the boy into constant states of food poisoning, probably to weaken him._ The revelation of the other seal caused the young boy to literally snarl. _The other is attached to the gas tank! If Naruto had ever tried to use all four burners within ten minutes, this thing would have blown him sky high!_

Rushing back into the room, he looked closer at the furniture and ran a hand along the fabric of the couch. Feeling something sharp under the fabric, he jammed a kunai in and ripped it open to reveal several small needles that were covered in poison. _Those stains I noticed earlier, they're not food stains – they're stains of BLOOD! Naruto has probably tried to relax on his couch, only to be pricked countless times with needles that were coated with a poison that prevented the Kyuubi from healing him properly for a short time._

Standing again, he looked around the room before finally noticing one more thing. _The walls...they've been painted recently._ He gently scraped at the wall with the kunai in his hand, pressing softly against it and causing the paint to chip off easily. _The paint is low quality; probably all the boy could afford on an orphan's allowance._ A few more good scrapes, and the paint fell away to reveal the words 'DEMON' painted on the wall. Yelling in anger, Kiyoshi then slammed his hand onto the wall, channeling some wind chakra into it that traveled the length of the wall. More paint fell away, and more words painted underneath such as 'MURDERER', 'BASTARD', 'LEAVE THIS PLACE', and finally, 'WHY WON'T YOU DIE!'

Stepping back from the wall as if it had burned him, Kiyoshi was looking all around the room with a furious expression, low snarls emitting from his throat. _This is not a village; this is den of rabid aniMALS. WHO ARE THEY TO JUDGE? THEY ALL DE**SERVE TO FLAYED! BURNED! CRUSHED! ERASED FROM THIS EARTH!**_

"Boy! Calm yourself!"

Kiyoshi gripped his head, realizing his eyes had changed without him noticing. He looked to his side to see a large wolf with black fur appear in a flash of white light. The wolf sat there on its haunches, gazing into Kiyoshi's eyes before finally saying, "Control, Kiyoshi. You must always remember control. No matter what you see, you must always remember to keep yourself in check." It then jerked its head towards a small mirror on the wall.

Kiyoshi looked over to see his eyes possessing the stigma of Chaos – a red and black mark that resembled the outline of a demon's head with a demonic wing coming out the back of it's right side and twisting around to the front – in one eye, and the stigma of Cosmos – a white swirl with an angel's wing coming out the left side and extending up – in the other. Shaking his head, he made the symbols disappear before looking back to the wolf. "Fenrir-sama..."

Fenrir raised a hairy eyebrow at the boy. "Maybe Chaos-sama is correct. Your bloodline must be starting to affect you, for you to overreact to a scene such as this. You normally don't release the _**Shinpan no Me***_ for just anything."

Kiyoshi schooled his features and looked around the room again. "These people, they cast their blame on an innocent boy for something he cannot be held remotely responsible for. This boy lives in a virtual hell, and these...ANIMALS only strive to make it worse."

Fenrir looked around and nodded his head. "Yes. I do agree with you when you say they should be punished," The wolf then stared levelly at the boy, "but a rampage through the village will accomplish nothing. Remember that you must try to spare the innocents. Only the guilty should feel your wrath."

Kiyoshi sighed a little and nodded his head. "I know."

Fenrir then let out a chuckle and flashed a toothy grin at the boy that seemed a little malicious. "Don't worry, boy. You'll get your chance to make these insects cower before you."

Kiyoshi chuckled as well and then asked, "Where is Shinryu-sama?"

Fenrir tossed his head a little in a throw-offish manner. "Off carrying out some form of mission from Chaos-sama, I'd imagine, though it's more likely he's probably just off killing some monsters in the Hell Fields." The wolf's ears then perked up, and he let out a low growl that sounded akin to a distant explosion. "Do you sense that, boy?"

Kiyoshi stamped a foot onto the ground, sending out a chakra pulse, and frowned at what he sensed. "It seems that added defenses aren't enough to deter some of the more determined idiots. No matter." He held out his hand, and a black-hilted katana flashed into it. "They'll die all the same."

Fenrir stood onto his feet and waited for the people to show. After a few minutes, letting out a loud furious muttering all the way, some people reached the top floor. All appeared to be high-chuunin level, and they froze when they all entered the room. They had no distinctive clan traits, which meant that these were civilian ninja.

One stepped forward, and said (in a voice which Kiyoshi noticed was close to monotone), "Who are you?"

Fenrir growled out, "No more talking."

Kiyoshi shot towards them, his _**Shinpan no Me**_ glaring, as he shouted out, "**_JUST DIE ALREADY!"_**

Down below, a small crowd was waiting for the ninja to return with the demon brat. Why hadn't they done this before? Simply distract the ANBU protecting him, and then send up a bunch of ninja to overpower the defenses. By the time the Hokage realized what was going on, the demon would already be dead, and the Fourth finally avenged. Plus, once the brat was dead, the Hokage would be released from the Fox's spell, and he would then see the truth of the matter and thank them with honor and maybe riches.

The crowd's collective thoughts were rudely interrupted when one of the nin went flying out of the window on the top floor, screaming all the way down before hitting the ground with a messy _SPLAT_. Staring at the rather gooey remains, they then heard footsteps behind them. Turning slowly, they saw a young blond-haired boy covered head to toe with blood, but they soon realized that this child was not Naruto Uzumaki.

Kiyoshi cracked his neck, his eyes still bearing the symbols of the Gods, and muttered in a low voice, "_**You know, I'm really starting to get pissed off at your stupidity. Do you people really have nothing better to do at ONE IN THE FUCKING MORNING than to come out here and try to kill a small child? I honestly thought that I'd just come into this village, take care of a few small matters and be on my merry way, leaving everyone happy as can be. But noooooo, I have to come into this village and take you all by the FUCKING HAND and try to teach a bunch of inbred, war-mongering lowlifes that certain things should be left alone. Well, guess what? I'm tired of trying to play nice. If I have to kill half the village in order to make my point, then so be it."**_

Kiyoshi then smiled and raised his bloodied katana into a stance. _**"Remember to scream for ME!"**_ He charged into the crowd, and Fenrir came out from behind them, biting into every bit of flesh he could and tearing his victims apart.

The rest of the village heard the screaming this time, and the mere sound of it sent a chill down a lot of backs as they felt the Shinigami begin to hover over their worthless souls.

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

_I'll make them all pay. This insult will not go unpunished._

His mind set, Kiyoshi strode quickly into the Tower.

* * *

Sarutobi had just finished going over the changes that Kiyoshi had made to the Scroll of Seals and was quite impressed with them. _Who would have thought it would have taken a modification to the Ram seal to make the Kage Bunshin use less chakra? The implications of this mean that we could apply the same concept to any jutsu in the world and make it so that even the lowest of Academy students could use at least one C-rank jutsu. I'll need R&D to look into this, and I might even see if Kiyoshi-san will be willing to share a little of what he knows to get them started._

His musings were cut short, however, when the door opened to reveal the very same boy he'd just been thinking about. What cut those musings wasn't exactly the boy's presence; it was the look on the boy's face. _Someone's going to die today. I just hope it's not me..._

Putting on what he hoped was a placating face and not a sickly one, Sarutobi asked, "Kiyoshi-san? What's wrong?"

Closing the door behind him, Kiyoshi strode forward and said in a growling voice, "First off, how many ANBU are currently in the room?"

Sarutobi made a motion, and two ANBU, Cat and Dog, dropped from their hiding places. Kiyoshi looked around the rest of the room and asked, "Any more?"

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, but replied, "No, these two are the only ones who should be in this room."

"We'll see."

Kiyoshi raised his foot and lightly stamped it onto the ground, causing a quick, powerful pulse of chakra that everyone in the room felt. He quickly turned to a corner behind himself, a kunai already flying from his hand at high speeds. There was a small _schlink _sound_,_ and another ANBU fell out of the shadows, the kunai firmly nestled between his eyes.

Sarutobi stood in shock and opened his mouth to say something, but Kiyoshi raised his hand and silenced the man. He then whispered, "_**Manadoraibu**_!" and looked around the room once more as his eyes rapidly changed to glowing sky-blue. His hands then became blurs as he threw three more kunai at various places located on the walls. The three targets then burst into small flames, revealing concealed seal tags as they burned away.

Sarutobi and the two ANBU were looking around shock at what had just taken place in the last fifteen seconds, while Kiyoshi just muttered, "Listening seals...Damn."

The boy then turned to the two ANBU, his eyes quickly switching from _**Manadoraibu**_ to _**Shinpan no Me**_, and said in his otherworldly voice, "_**ANBU! Look into my eyes!"**_

The two nervously did so, and they felt a chill pass through them, as if the child was looking into their very souls.

Kiyoshi continued to stare at them for a few more seconds, before then sighing and nodding his head, his eyes returning to their original color as the boy slumped into a chair.

Sarutobi took a moment to stare at the young child in front of him, but was shocked at what he was seeing. Here was a boy, merely nine years old, sitting in a chair looking like an old veteran who had seen and done too much over the course of his life. _What kind of training has this child done to become what I see in front of me?_

The silence continued for a few moments out of respect for the tired warrior, before Kiyoshi said, his voice reflecting his mood, "Sarutobi-san, I've got some very bad news, as the evidence you've just witnessed can tell you. I have a feeling that my presence here has been made known."

Sarutobi widened his eyes in shock but let the boy continue. "This Danzo character...he's more ruthless than I have given him credit for. We were right, Hokage-san. He is using seals to get his soldiers."

He then gestured to the corpse in the corner. "Have these two examine that body for a seal located on the base of the neck under the armor, near the brain stem."

Sarutobi gestured to the two nin, and they walked over to the body. Dog first pried off the chest armor before Cat then took the shirt and ripped open the back. Sure enough, the seal was displayed for all to see, and Dog traced his hand on the seal before tracing his finger slowly up onto the man's head. Still tracing, he said aloud, "The boy's right, Hokage-dono. The seal shows traces of affecting the control centers of the brain, though the exact nature of the seal eludes me."

Kiyoshi sighed again. "The worst part is that's the only seal I'm aware of at the moment. There could be countless more all over the body, hidden to the eye under a permanent henge." He then leveled a stare at the Hokage. "ANBU has been compromised, Hokage-san. I don't know how many people are involved – it could be only a few or it could be up to half the force – but they are reporting to Danzo on all activities within. Have you had the autopsy on the other body yet?"

Sarutobi nodded his head. "I should be getting the results in a few minutes."

Kiyoshi slowly nodded his head yet remained silent. He then finally said, "Could you please explain to me why Naruto's home is located in a dilapidated building on the edge of the red light? And just why his home is practically a death trap when it should have been observed at all times?" At Sarutobi's confused look, Kiyoshi tossed him a small scroll.

Curious, Sarutobi opened it to reveal all the findings that Kiyoshi had made the previous night. Some of it was very useful, but when he got to the end, he laid the scroll down before pinching his nose in sadness and frustration. "It may have been only a few hours, but between the death of the Fourth and my reinstatement, the village council made its move. Through political maneuvering and underhanded threats, the civilian portion began seizing powers that were restricted to the Hokage only. They were able to get away with it as well, since it happened during the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack, and the civilian council as well as their supporters were able to obtain a quorum necessary to pass their own personal laws while most of the clans were stuck tending to their affairs."

Sarutobi leaned forward and sighed, his hand now resting on the desk. "Most of it was unnecessary bullshit that honestly I didn't care about in any way. Hell, they could feel free to them if they were so desperate to have them. But one of the laws they modified was the one stating the civilian council's actual amount of power within the village's government. Before, they only held about a quarter of the council's power - not much to use if you wish to get things done that you want for personal gain. Through the laws, however, they were able to absorb some of the seats of the lesser clans that had been wiped out, bringing them to possessing a little under half the power of the whole council. Thankfully, I was able to intervene and dissolve the council before they could do any more damage, and for the most part, the two sides have been deadlocked, unable to really further any personal agendas."

Kiyoshi noticed that the frustration must really be building in the old man, as the Third was now rubbing his forehead as if to prevent an oncoming headache. "One of those exceptions, though, was the issue of Naruto. The civilians clamored that he should have been killed now that the Kyuubi was sealed inside him. They wanted to be rid of the monster forever, and they didn't care that this was an innocent child containing it. I was able to circumvent this train of thought by stating that the matter of the sealing was a shinobi one, and killing Naruto would actually release the Kyuubi into the world again. That may have shut them up for the moment, but when it then came to the issue of who would raise the boy, they turned my own words against me, stating that since the boy was 'some nameless orphan', he therefore fell under their jurisdiction."

Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow at the old man. "What about the clans? I hear some of them were wishing to take in the boy."

Sarutobi nodded in response. "They do, but when one clan brought forth their own adoption requests, the rest of the clans would block them since it would give that particular clan an advantage in the village. The civilian council just decided to take advantage of this and use their own powers to continue the deadlock. In the meantime, Naruto was placed in an orphanage. It wasn't too bad for the boy there, according to my reports. He was kept decently fed and had a standard room, and he was able to befriend quite a few of the other children there. However, when he turned four, the council decided to put pressure on the orphanage for some strange reason. They wanted Naruto to be put out onto the streets, citing that they wished to 'protect the other children from the demon's evil influence.' The matron tried to reason with them, tell them that Naruto hadn't exhibited any behavior that seemed destructive or malicious; but when they told her they would do the same to the rest of the orphanage if she didn't cooperate, she had no choice but to bend to their demands make the boy leave."

Sarutobi smiled a wan smile. "She managed to inform me of what was going on, and I was able to quickly get word to Jiraiya regarding the matter. Through an anonymous source, he bought the building Naruto was being moved to and did some rapid reconstruction of the place before council could catch on. He did the best he could, at least making sure that the place wouldn't fall down around the child, and asked for periodic updates, sending money for the boy's care every month that I would secretly add to the boy's monthly stipend."

"Why the interest?"

"Because Jiraiya is the boy's godfather. However, he's also the village's spymaster and couldn't travel around with a small child. I'm sure that if the council found out, they would have blocked the man anyway, even if they weren't in any legal right to do so. Instead, he would send money every other week to ensure that the boy's needs were cared for and is the current owner of Naruto's apartment building, so the boy secretly stays there rent free, while on paper he is currently being charged enough to leave the boy practically a beggar. Still, despite all that we have tried to do, things still happen that I can't control or foresee."

Kiyoshi just let out a low growl. "You damn Elementals. There's always some problem in each village that someone_else_ has to come in and fix for you. This is actually getting sad that people in this nation are so stupid."

The rest of the people in room just mouthed the word "Elementals?" in confusion, but the boy just plowed on. "Listen closely, Sarutobi-san. You. Are. The. FUCKING. Hokage. The Fire Daimyo left the Hokage and the Hokage _alone_ in charge of this village. The council has no legal right in the running of this village no matter how much they may whine and bitch; they are an _advisory_ council only. This village is a fucking military dictatorship, not some pansy-ass democracy where the idiot sheep bleet about their so-called injustices. If they are dissatisfied with this fact, they can feel free gather what they own and leave. Anything that is as important as a Bijuu container is something that only the Hokage can handle, not a bunch of fat, petulant children."

The boy rubbed his eyes again in frustration before sighing again and leaning back into his seat. Turning back to the Hokage, he allowed a small, tired smile onto his face. "You wish to know about why I'm so interested in a young boy that I've never met, yes? Well, I have quite a few reasons, but I'll tell you one of them while we wait for that report. This involves a story that dates back to what is now referred to as 'the beginning of the shinobi world' and involves a man known as the Rikudo Sennin..."

* * *

Naruto was now walking the streets, having eaten breakfast already at the ramen stand. He loved those breakfasts and wished he could have them more often with the kindly owners, but he also knew that doing so would start cutting into their profits since they served them to him for free. That is turn would make Naruto guilty, since he didn't wish to be a burden to others with his problems. It was his responsibility to feed himself after all, and he couldn't always be taking handouts or else he'd start irritating others.

He looked around, keeping more to the sidelines so as to avoid any people who decided to continue what had happened yesterday. He was still confused about why they had done so; usually, it took much more than a simple yell to get a mob after him. Maybe it was the fact that the man had yelled about a weapon?

_But that doesn't make any sense either, since I didn't HAVE a weapon to begin with. Surely someone in the crowd would have noticed and then yelled it out?_

Sighing at his own misfortune, Naruto just kept walking. Thankfully, no one was really taking any time to notice him, though he noticed a couple of the more violent villagers standing off to the side. They seemed to be looking for something...

His eyes widening, he ducked behind a corner before one of them noticed him and peeked around. _Not something – someONE. I think they're looking for ME!_ Panic began to set in at this thought, but he was hoping maybe he could find out why the sudden interest.

Noticing a small group of women heading his way, he waited until they passed by the alleyway before slipping in right behind them. They didn't seem to notice their little tag-along, as they laughed away at some random comment one of them had made, and Naruto tried to keep as close to them without actually alerting them.

He followed closely for a few seconds, before quietly dashing behind a cart that was passing in front of the group. The women still didn't notice and just continued on while Naruto followed the cart, ducking slightly so that the men would see his blonde hair. As the cart stopped nearby a produce stall, Naruto then stepped into the alleyway nearby.

He knew most of the layout of the village, so he also knew that this alleyway looped around the building and would exit out near where the men were standing. As he approached the end, he sidled up against the wall and reached near the building corner, hoping that it would be close enough.

He was awarded for his efforts when one of the men spoke up. "Are you sure the kid is heading this way? He might have already returned to his apartment, you know."

The other man's deeper voice replied, "Of course he's coming this way. The demon wouldn't stay in the same place where he's already committed murder. It's too sly to do something that stupid."

_Murder?_ Naruto wondered. He hadn't killed anybody, not to also mention that he hadn't even been near his apartment last night, as the Ichiraku's could attest for him. Not that anyone would believe them, since it was known that they showed the boy kindness.

The first voice spoke up again after a few more seconds of silence. "But are we sure that he's the one? The ANBU who had arrived at the scene claimed that the people were found practically torn to shreds, like a pack of wolves had found them and decided to have dinner. How can one kid do that much? He hasn't even had any ninja training yet, and the ANBU claim that Uzumaki was with some of their other members when it had happened."

A snort, and then, "What, believe ANBU? They're under the Hokage's thumb, and he's trying to protect the little bastard. The Fox is just showing its true colors after waiting for so long. All ANBU is doing is trying to cover it up so that everyone will quit worrying. I'm telling you, the damn demon is responsible for it all, and he's gonna pay."

"Whatever. I just think that we need to wait until the Hokage and the council have had a chance to discuss this before doing anything. If we make the wrong move, we'll be sent to prison at the very least. It is very possible that something else have happened last night, like a summons that had gone wrong. There _were_ ninja in the group."

The other man just growled out, "Stop making excuses and just help me find the brat."

Naruto silently backed away from the edge and took another exit before one of them men decided to check the alley. Coming out to a street on the other side, he then pondered what they said. Did someone try to go to his apartment? What happened there, and why did they think that he was responsible? Then again, some of the villagers didn't really need a reason to blame him, and it was growing worse. It almost seemed like more and more were starting to hate him for no reason, like someone was spreading rumors about him.

_But who? And why? What do they want to do by spreading lies about me? Make people hate me so much that Sarutobi-jiji-san has to hide me? What would that really do?_

Naruto sighed again and went back to observing around him. It really wouldn't do him any good to avoid one group looking for him only to run into another. He continued walking around, heading for the park, until a voice then called out, "Hey, Naruto!"

Quickly turning, he smiled as he looked at the owner of the voice. It was a little brown-haired girl that was a year older than him, wearing a pink T-shirt and blue shorts that went past her knees, her brown hair put up into two buns on the top of her head.

As the girl came close, he then said, "Hey, Tenten! What's up?"

Her brown eyes twinkling a little with amusement and a small mischievous smile on her face, she put her hands on her hips as she replied, " 'What's up?' That's all you can say after not seeing me for so long? No 'nice to see you'? Not even a 'how have you been'? I'm going to get you for being so rude to your onee-san!"

Grinning now, she gently grabbed him in a headlock and began knuckling his head a little as the two of them laughed. After few seconds of this, she let him out of her grip and lightly hit him on the shoulder. "And after all my time wasted looking for you. Honestly..."

Naruto smiled and rubbed his head a little. "Sorry about not coming to see everyone at the orphanage for so long. I've been busy trying to get my skills up so that I can go to the Academy next year." His eyes brightened a little as he looked back at her. "Hey, how have your classes been? You're going there this year, right?"

Sticking out her chest proudly, Tenten exclaimed, "That's right! Already, I'm the top of my class as a kunoichi overall, and I'm only just getting started. By the end of the year, I'll be the best!"

Smiling at the young girl's bravado, Naruto just changed the subject and asked, "Has the Academy let out for the day?"

Nodding happily, Tenten replied, "Yep! I just wanted to see if you were interested in hanging out at the park with me and a couple of my friends from class."

Naruto simply nodded. "Sure! I was heading that way, anyway."

Her hand grabbing his, the two children ran towards their destination, unaware of the cloaked shadow that was following them out of sight.

* * *

Kiyoshi leaned back into his chair and rubbed his forehead, muttering, "And now you know one of the primary reasons why that boy is so important."

The rest of the room's occupants could only gape in a mixture of realization, horror, and astonishment. Realization, because what the boy had told them made quite a bit of sense in all retrospect; horror, because of this information's implications; and astonishment, because they now realized that Naruto now held more power than they had previously imagined (which was actually quite a bit).

Silence reigned for a few minutes, each person busy with their own thoughts, before Sarutobi reached up to his earpiece and turned it on. "This is a command priority one to all ANBU. I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, use my powers to elevate the status of Naruto Uzumaki to an O-rank priority regarding his safety. The boy is not to be harmed in any way possible, and to ensure this, I am making this a new village law. I repeat, Naruto Uzumaki is now considered an O-rank village priority. Understood?"

Several shocked voices sounded their affirmations, and Sarutobi switched off the earpiece. He looked back to Kiyoshi, who was dozing slightly. He was about to simply let the boy rest and draw up the draft for the law he'd just enacted, before one of the boy's eyes cracked open slightly while a small smile formed on his face. "No need to worry about crafting the law. I have a copy right here." A small flash from the seal on his wrist, and the boy held up several pages. Dog walked over and took the pages from the boy and gave them to Hokage as Kiyoshi dozed off again.

Sarutobi spent several minutes silently shuffling through the papers. _Amazing. These laws are so detailed in everything, ranging from physical abuse to mental to even just improperly charging the boy for supplies. Even more, the law is airtight! I can't even find one loophole whatsoever. Hell, not even a legal team of the highest caliber could possibly hope to exploit this in anyway, let alone find a way to overturn it._ With this thought, Sarutobi picked up the stamp bearing the Hokage's seal sitting next to him and inked it before bringing out onto the document, saying with finality, "With the required number of witnesses available, I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, hereby enact this village law and add it to the village civil code."

He turned to the two ANBU. "Take off your masks and sign this, as you have now become witnesses to this."

Stunned, neither nin moved for a few seconds, before Dog reached up and removed his mask, revealing a man with a hiate covering his left eye and a black mask covering his lower face. He walked over to the desk and took one of the pens. After a few seconds of pen scratching, he straightened from the desk, revealing the signature _Kakashi Hatake_.

Cat then reached up and removed her mask, showing a woman with chocolate brown eyes and reddish-purple lipstick. She then reached up to her head and removed a pin, letting her purple hair flow down to a little past her shoulders. Copying Kakashi's earlier actions, she moved away from the desk, displaying the signature _Yugao Uzuki_ on the document.

They all turned to Kiyoshi, who was still dozing slightly. Yugao walked over to him and gently nudged his shoulder, saying quietly, "Tenshi-sama, wake up. You need to sign this document as well."

Kiyoshi's eyes slowly opened, and he nodded slowly before getting back to his feet. He stretched a little, a few pops sounding from his body as he did so, and walked over to the document. He signed it and then reached over to the seal on his wrist. A small stamp and green ink tablet appeared on the desk, and he inked the stamp before applying it to the document. "I, Kiyoshi Tenshi, representative of the Jade Emperor, ruler of all nations, and heir-apparent of the Tenshi clan, hereby approve this signing and enacting of this law."

A small trace of smoke rose from the paper, and Kiyoshi raised the stamp to reveal the insignia of a shenlong dragon with five claws on its hand, the ink still smoking a little.

It was at this moment that the door opened, revealing a chuunin holding a packet with sealed documents. He walked over to the desk and laid the packet on it without uttering a word. He bowed to the Hokage and started towards the door before it suddenly closed and Kiyoshi's ephemeral voice filled the room. "_**Chuunin, look into my eyes.**_"

The man stopped and slowly turned around to see Kiyoshi staring at him, his _**Shinpan no me**_ flaring. He stared at the man for a second before saying, "_**Have you examined these documents in any way?**_"

The man shook his head and said, "No."

"_**Liar!**_" Kiyoshi flared some KI directly at the man, dropping him to his knees as he struggled to keep breathing. "_**Tell me the TRUTH!**_"

"Y-Yes...I...did look at...them."

"_**Have you reported this information to anyone else?**_"

"No, not yet."

Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow as he smiled a feral smile. " _**'Not yet'? To whom were you planning on reporting this to?**_"

The man seemed to struggle a little with his answer, his will to survive clashing with something else in him, before his voice strained out, "D-Danzo-sama...D-D-Danzo Sh-Shimura."

As if on reflex, the man's head turned slightly, letting out a small _SNAP_, and his eyes rolled back as he fell to the ground, dead.

Muttering a quick "_**Manadoraibu**_" and causing his eyes to switch modes, Kiyoshi walked over to the body and began examining it. As he did so, he addressed to Sarutobi, "Open the documents and see just how many seals your coroners found. If the report claims that there are none, we'll need to find these coroners themselves and interrogate them."

Sarutobi nodded and then turned to the other two nin as he opened the packet. "Assist him as I read these."

Kakashi and Yugao nodded and moved over to Kiyoshi, kneeling next to him. They listened to him as he muttered to himself, "The same control seal on the base of the spine, connecting to the brain stem and traveling to the cerebellum," He traced a finger up the body's spine and to the man's head, "where it spreads to various centers of the brain, particularly the cerebral cortex and the amygdalae. Yet why does it...Ah, I see, which would explain the seal...but then why the violent reaction to mentioning the man's name?" Kiyoshi turned the body onto its back and kept examining the man's skull. Eventually, he opened the mouth and pulled out the tongue, showing a seal array at the base of it. "Ah, Danzo, I truly am going to have my fun with you."

Sarutobi took this moment to walk over, but Kiyoshi just kept on kneeling before the body. He did direct a question towards the elderly man, however. "What did the report say?"

"The coroners claimed they found at least five seals located on various places of the body. One on the base of the neck, one on the tongue, one on each leg, and then finally one on the chest, located directly on the solar plexus."

Kiyoshi nodded his head, still continuing to stare at the body before him. "It's official, then. Danzo's MO is to place at least two seals on each nin to ensure their loyalty; if I had to venture a guess at this point, I'm going to say that the other three on the legs and solar plexus are training seals and a chakra storage seal, respectively." Sighing a little, he finally got up and stretched his legs a little. "Of course, they could be something else entirely. We need your seal master here as soon as possible."

Sarutobi looked at the boy, confused. "But your bloodline...surely it must show you how the seals work and what they are meant for."

Kiyoshi chuckled a little as he deactivated his eyes. "It's not that simple, Hokage-san. You see, _**Manadoraibu**_ isn't primarily a doujutsu; it only allows me to see traces of chakra in correlation to the involved mediums."

He held up his hands in the ram seal. "You see, I was able to perfect the _**Kage Bunshin**_ because _**Manadoraibu**_ allows me to see how the chakra flows and its relation to control, power, and, in some cases, intent. Hand seals are actually quite simple for me to break down because the hand seals themselves never change – it is only the types used, the order they are used in, and the number required for the jutsu. So, following that logic, when I took the _**Kage Bunshin**_ and modified it like so," His hands shifted so that now his index fingers were now touching tip to tip and his pinkies were the fingers crossed, though in an "X" rather than a "T", "I was able to discern the proper amounts of chakra necessary to perform the jutsu and the control necessary to keep the clones stable, though overpowering them may grant a person a Kage Bunshin that can actually stand more than one hit while underpowering it may just cause the number of clones to simply be less then what they would at normal power."

He undid his hands from the seal and waved one of them at the body. "Drawn seals, however, are a different matter. You could start out with a basic design and modify it as you go along, but the new design may have a different purpose than the old one due to something as small as a stray mark or a line that is crooked when it should be completely straight. I could study that seal on the spine, but simply looking at it with my bloodline doesn't tell me how it works; in fact, trying to do so just makes me look stupid. The most I can do with my bloodline at this point would just be seeing how the seal directed the chakra but not what it was used for. We actually need a seal master to come in and study this mark, because only a seal master can actually tell us what each brush stroke did to build the seal, how it all fits together, and what purpose the seal served."

Sarutobi stood there absorbing this new information for a few minutes before nodding and saying, "All right. Jiraiya's return is now a high priority. I'll send a monkey summons to him with his return orders. He should be somewhere in the Fire Nation right now, so it shouldn't be too long for him to return." He then walked over to his desk and picked up the signed papers. "As for this, I'll hold a council meeting tomorrow. It's time that the council was reminded of their true purpose."

Kiyoshi nodded his head and smirked as he walked over towards the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get some breakfast and then get some sleep."

* * *

Naruto was happily playing with Tenten and her classmates. One was a boy with black hair that was tied into a braided pony tail and wearing a white long-sleeved oriental shirt and black pants. Probably his most notable feature, though, were his rather large eyebrows, which freaked Naruto out a little, though he didn't show it so that he wouldn't hurt the boy's feelings. Despite this little aversion, the boy proved to be rather fun-spirited, which Naruto enjoyed. This boy was an orphan like him by the name of Rock Lee.

The other boy was a boy with medium length brown hair and some wrapped bandages on his forehead. He wore a simple kimono that allowed him to move freely, but showed him of a slightly higher status. He seemed a little more serious than the rest of his friends, but he still smiled and joked around with them. He came from the Hyuuga, which was easy to figure out because of his eyes, which were a pearly white with no pupils. His name was Neji Hyuuga.

The kids were so busy playing with each other that they never noticed the small group of men that were slowly advancing towards them from the alleyway. Nor did they notice when the same black-cloaked figure from earlier quietly sneak up on the men and quickly slip several kunai into their backs, hitting key vital points of the body. As the men fell, the figure would drag them back into the alleyway, as silently as he had approached, preventing any one from seeing this event transpire.

As the figure quickly disposed of the bodies, he looked back to the children and chuckled a little at their innocence. He let his hood down, and it revealed to be a clone of Kiyoshi. The clone looked at the bodies again and shook its head. "Don't worry, kid. Boss wants you safe, and safe is what you'll be." Sealing the bodies into a scroll, the clone put the hood back on and vanished back into the shadows. The children kept on playing.

* * *

**_*Shinpan no Me_** = Eyes of Judgement

_**A.N. Sorry about the false update from yesterday. I accidentally hit the wrong button and wound up posting the new chapter without making any corrections and additions. Although, the only changes I had made were the line breaks and author's note, so I could have simply left it up as is. Oh well. At least I got a few more voters for the polls. As it stands right now, Sakura and Ino are tied for the lead with seventeen votes apiece. I'm going to leave the poll up for another two chapters, and then I'm going to close it. So remember to make your votes people! And, as always, please feel free to leave your reviews. It's actually kind of refreshing to get some feedback from other people, since I don't allow anyone else I know to read these. Thanks!**_


	5. Chapter 5

Having spent most of the day sleeping, Kiyoshi finally woke up somewhere around 6 PM, his stomach roaring and his sense tingling with the memories of the clones that had dispelled themselves. It was mostly reconnaissance data on some of the stores the clones had gone to, revealing some of the hidden stashes of intel the shopkeepers were hiding. _I somehow knew that these people couldn't be that stupid. I mean, yeah, the stuff I found the first night was still pretty bad, but if these hidden safes are anything to go by, then Sarutobi-san is going go to town tomorrow during the council meeting. There probably won't even be a civilian council left when we're through with them._

He shifted through the data, sorting it where he needed it most and by order of priority. _Danzo is the most important thing. I have a feeling that if I let him run free for any longer, he's going to be one of the biggest thorns in my side. Still, I can't strike at him just yet, so the next priority is to eliminate the civilians' resistance. Taking away all of their available power in the village will allow me to get some items taken care of more easily, such as examining the clans and getting the academy back on track. I may not really care about the Elemental's petty problems, but I'm not so cold-hearted that I'll allow children to die more easily. Also, by doing this, I'll probably limit Danzo's movements if he loses the civilian council's backing. _

He kept sorting through his memories, following the events from yesterday, until he realized something. _Those seals the other day...if I had taken my sealing studies more seriously, I would have been able to examine those seals myself rather than have Sarutobi-san send for Jiraiya. I think tonight, I'll have some of my clones go to the library after it closes and break in - no need to allow the civilians to know of me just yet after all – and have them search for all the books on sealing that they have. I'd hate to do it, but I may even have to use some of my political pull on Sarutobi-san to show me some of the Fourth's sealing books, if there are any._

Standing up from the bed he had rented, he stretched a little and felt a few pops in his back. _I knew I should have rested before coming to this village. I had already skipped sleeping for the last four days, but then again I didn't think that I would have that much to do in this village. Out of all the ninja villages, Konoha was supposed to be with the least amount of problems. Ironic, actually, since I have a feeling I'm going to have more trouble with this place than with any other village before._

Throwing on his jacket, he moved to the evening shadows in the corner of the room, chuckling as he did so. _Well, no matter what though, I'm going to have some amusement for a little while. Danzo and his allies will ensure that. Now, where to find Naruto?_

Calmly, Kiyoshi stepped fully into the shadows and promptly disappeared from the room.

* * *

Kiyoshi stepped out of the shadows of an alley and looked around himself. Evening had come, so many people were either getting some last minute things before returning home or were closing up for the night. Realizing he wasn't far from the ramen stand from earlier, he walked in that direction, keeping alert to anything out of the ordinary. No one, however, took any notice of the blonde at all, simply dismissing him as yet another child in the crowd. _Come on, REALLY? From what I can tell, blonde hair is an uncommon trait in this village outside of that clan of mind walkers and Naruto. Why am I not raising any suspicion? No less than seventy-five people have gone missing or were found dead in this village in the last twenty-four hours, and no one looks twice at the small blonde boy dressed in black clothing that no one recognizes? Either they know more than they're letting on or they're all idiots._

Just for show, an elaborate kunai shaped like a feather flashed in his hands, and Kiyoshi twirled it around lightly on his finger as he walked, trying to incite some sort of reaction from the people around him. A few people looked at him curiously (whom Kiyoshi noticed were from different clans), but he was otherwise ignored. _Yep, they're idiots. Hellooooo, people! Nine year-old kid without a hitai-ate swinging around a dangerous weapon here. Somebody __at least __stop and tell me to put this __thing away before I accidentally hurt somebody. I know this is a ninja village, but this is ridiculous!_

Sighing inwardly, the kunai flashed away as he neared the stand. He heard the sound of children's laughter coming from there, which brought a small smile to Kiyoshi's face when he realized that one of those voices was Naruto's. He ducked into the stand to see three other children accompanying the exuberant boy – a small brown-haired girl with that same hair in buns, a Hyuuga boy, and a black-haired boy that Kiyoshi noticed had the largest eyebrows for a child his age.

Chuckling at Naruto, who was in the middle of gesturing something wildly as he told his story, Kiyoshi walked up behind him and ruffled his hair a little, saying, "It looks like someone was having a good day today. I guess I didn't have to worry too much about disappearing for a while."

Naruto turned around quickly and, recognizing Kiyoshi, let a large smile form onto his face as he said, "Kiyoshi-san! Where have you been? I was just telling them about what happened the other day but," he pouted a little as he looked to the other children, "they wouldn't believe me when I told them about you."

Kiyoshi chuckled again as he told Ayame what he wanted and turned back to Naruto. "Well, you do have to admit, Naruto, that what you saw yesterday would be pretty hard to believe unless you happened to see it yourself. Not many would really think that a nine year-old kid who's not from this village could really be capable of moving that fast or acting that brutal. An experienced genin, maybe, but not someone whose age is that of an academy student." He put a finger to his chin in thought and then shrugged. "Well, maybe an academy student from Kiri would, but that's hardly the issue here."

Kiyoshi picked up a pair of chopsticks and lightly tapped Naruto on the head before removing the paper covering, his voice taking on that of mocking chastisement. "Now, it's very rude of you to not introduce your friends to me. I'm sure they're probably curious as to who is the dashing, handsome ruffian," Ayame snorted a little as she put down his bowl of miso ramen and rushed off containing her laughter, "that just interrupted their meal."

Naruto rubbed his head abashedly, though his smile remained. "Sorry, I guess I should have said that first." He pointed to the girl with the buns. "This is Tenten."

Said girl waved and said a friendly "Hello!" as Naruto then pointed to the boy with the eyebrows. "This is Rock Lee."

Lee nodded his head and smiled at Kiyoshi while letting out a friendly "Yosh!", and Naruto then pointed to the Hyuuga boy. "And this is Neji."

Kiyoshi glanced at the quiet boy, taking special notice of his eyes, before then saying, "A Hyuuga? Are you by any chance closely related to the Clan Head?"

Neji jerked a little in surprise before stammering out, "Y-Yes. Hiashi-sama is my tou-san's older twin brother."

Kiyoshi grinned a little as he snapped his chopsticks apart. "Which makes you the son of Hizashi-sama, the head of the cadet branch of the Hyuuga clan. Tell me, how is your tou-san these days?"

Neji seemed even more shocked than before and sat there in silence for nearly a minute before quietly saying, "H-He's well. May I ask how you know him?"

Ending his noodle slurping for a second, Kiyoshi waved his hand in an offish manner. He quickly swallowed before answering, "I don't, actually. My clan helped your tou-san and oji-san* out with some rather nasty diplomatic business about three years back. Can't really remember the details of it; it wasn't part of the mission we had at that time. My clan just stepped in so that they could get to their marks easier. The way I understand it, though, we had just prevented your oji-san from executing one of our marks and possibly creating an incident with Kumo. We moved in, killed the guy, and then took his body with us. If there is any more to it, then I wasn't ever informed. You might want to ask your tou-san for more details when you get the chance."

Neji just nodded his head, his mind reeling from all the info just dumped onto his lap. _Three years ago? I remember the clan being a little solemn after Hinata-sama's third birthday, like everyone __was on pins and needles, almost as if they were expecting enemies to show up. But what happened?_

He glanced over to the older blonde, who was now starting in on another bowl of ramen, pork this time. He quietly observed him for a little bit before thinking _He moves just like Tou-san or Hiashi-oji-san. It's subtle but it's there. His movements are fluid and lack unnecessary action, and he's also poised, like he's waiting for anything and everything to happen. Who is this kid?_

Neji shook his head and turned back to his own bowl of ramen, resolving to ask his father just what might be going on.

* * *

The children continued to sit there and talk for a little bit, until a chuunin stepped into the stand. He observed each of the children carefully before moving over to Kiyoshi and saying, "Excuse me, but are you Kiyoshi Tenshi-sama?"

Kiyoshi's movements froze quickly, his muscles tensing to strike should he need to, and his eyes moved to look out of the corner of his eyes as he replied, "Maybe. Who wishes to know?"

The chuunin saluted the boy before pulling out a letter from his vest pocket. "Pardon for the intrusion, sir, but I have a message to deliver to you."

Kiyoshi then turned looked at the letter for a second before slowly reaching out and taking it. He then looked at the chuunin and said, "Thank you."

The man saluted again and began to make his way out of the stand, but he froze when an otherworldly voice then said, "_**Did I say you were dismissed, Chuunin?**_"

The man slowly turned around and stared at the young boy again. Kiyoshi's eyes had his **Shinpan no Me** flaring, and he stared at the man for a few seconds. He then suddenly blinked his eyes, the symbols disappearing, and he put a on a cheery smile as he said, "You forgot to let me get you your tip!" Reaching into his coat pockets, he pulled out about a couple hundred ryo and put it into the man's hand. "There you go. Now, don't let me keep you."

Saluting at the boy's dismissal, the man left with his legs shaking, though only it was a little.

Kiyoshi then turned to the letter in his hand. The envelope was blank, aside from Kiyoshi's name on the front, and on the back was a wax seal bearing the symbol of Konoha. _Odd. A chuunin happens to know my name and bears a letter with a Konoha official's symbol? If it were Sarutobi-san, he would have sent one of the ANBU or simply would have came himself. This person doesn't wish to have this traced back to them, hence the standard wax sealing, but they're high enough to be able to get away with claiming whatever is in this letter as a Konoha matter._

Kiyoshi ran his thumb under the seal and broke the envelope open, pulling out and unfolding the letter before reading it.

_**To the honored Tenshi-sama,**_

_** I request a meeting between you and I. Tonight on the top of the Hokage Mountain at midnight. I have some information you may find useful in your endeavors. Be careful. A**__** 'root 'is**__**'watching for the water that allows it grow , 'but it 'is 'unaware of the one that wields the spade that will kill**__**. '**__**Of 'you**__** I ask, are you the root or the one with the spade?**_

_** A friend of a third friend**_

Kiyoshi observed the letter for a few minutes, noticing the small ticks beside certain words. Some people may have simply thought that the writer was having trouble writing, but for someone who had training in codes, Kiyoshi read the underlying message.

_**ROOT is watching but is unaware of you**_.

Silently setting the letter ablaze with a quick mutter, Kiyoshi began to ponder this. _Interesting. This could be a trap, but the signer claims to be a friend of the Sandaime. I guess I'll just have to see._

Ending his musings, Kiyoshi then remembered that he wasn't alone, and he turned his head to see the rest of the children staring at him with open-mouthed astonishment. He just stared at them, his own eyes a little wide at what this might mean, before Naruto broke the silence by turning to the other three and happily exclaiming out, "Told ya!"

Chuckling while silently thanking the young boy for breaking their curiosity – at least for the moment – Kiyoshi laid some bills on the counter as he stood from his seat. He ruffled Naruto's hair a little, causing the boy to look at Kiyoshi with a goofy grin, and Kiyoshi just said, "Hey Naruto, why don't we-"

Kiyoshi suddenly stopped speaking when he felt something on the edge of his senses that was heading rapidly towards the stand. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he reached up to his hood and threw it over his head before saying to Ayame, "Watch the kids."

Ayame, a little confused, nodded her head in understanding and said to the children, "Guys, come with me into the back. Things might get a little crazy here."

"That will not be necessary, waitress-san." The entrance flaps parted to reveal two men wearing jounin vests and a Konoha hitai-ate on their foreheads. They both looked rather similar – same facial structure, same black eyes, same black hair – and both were sporting what appeared to be a red fan with a white handle on the backs of their vests.

Kiyoshi rolled his eyes in the darkness of his hood's cowl and resisted the urge to sigh. _Members of the Uchiha clan. As if things weren't difficult enough..._

One of the men pointed at Naruto and sneered at him. "You, _boy_, are to be taken in and questioned."

The other man made to grab Naruto, but Kiyoshi blocked his path with a raised hand. He looked straight into the accuser's eyes and asked in an irritated tone, "Oh? On what charges? Do you two even have an arrest warrant?"

The man directed his sneer at Kiyoshi, and said in a haughty voice, "Warrant? We are the village's police force, and, even more importantly, we are Uchiha! As if we need something so _trivial_ as a warrant to interrogate the little _demon_."

This statement caused the gears in Kiyoshi's mind to start turning rapidly. _No wonder no one cared about a foreigner possibly attacking their own people. They were planning on blaming it on Naruto anyway, as well as any one else who got in their way. Due to their clan rivalry, they probably would find an excuse to take in Neji as well just as a matter of pettiness!_

The second Uchiha then grunted out, "So, if you don't want to be at the mercy of our questioning, I would suggest getting out of the way, boy. You're obstructing justice right now."

The first man just laughed. "Go ahead and seize the demon-lover anyway, Hiro. As if anyone's going to notice him missing."

A malicious grin appeared on Hiro's face. "Sure thing, Daisuke."

Kiyoshi's eyes narrowed as the man's hand began moving towards him. _That's it. __**I'm pissed NOW!**_

Quicker than anyone could see, Kiyoshi grabbed his attackers hand and bent it at the wrist, several pops and breaks now sounding in the stand. Hiro yelled in pain before Kiyoshi then shot his hand forward and, gripping the man's face, slammed his head into the ground before then raising the man from ground, still holding onto his face, and throwing him at his cohort.

Daisuke widened his eyes as he watched Hiro's body shoot straight for him. The two men collided and were thrown out of the stand, straight into the wall of the building on the opposite side. They hit that wall with a _CRUNCH_ that resounded down the street, and both men crumpled to the ground as they tried to regain their bearings.

Kiyoshi calmly stepped out of the stand, the _**Shinpan no Me**_ glowing in his eyes, and softly said, "_**Fenrir-sama**_."

Suddenly the large black wolf from before seemed to fly out of Kiyoshi's left shoulder and stood at the ready as he said, "Do you require my assistance, Kiyoshi?"

Kiyoshi shook his head. "_**No. Let me handle the scum. Go and guard the children for me. **__**You never know if some more of their friends might decide to show up**_."

Fenrir let out a throaty chuckle. "Aww, and I was hoping to get some dinner." The large wolf shrank his size a little before then entering the stand and sitting on his haunches in front of the shocked children, his stance relaxed though his muscles were tensed to react.

Kiyoshi continued his calm walk until he was standing in front of the two men laying on the ground. He stared at them for a moment before then growling out, "_**Get up! Surely the Clan of Thieves is stronger than this!**_"

He noticed their eyes flash in anger before both men threw out kunai and leaped to their feet. The kunai simply sailed towards Kiyoshi before seeming to hit a wall of air and bouncing away harmlessly, Kiyoshi never bothering to move an inch in response.

Daisuke rushed forward first, already slipping in the Uchiha's clan taijutsu, his eyes morphing into their doujutsu. He began a furious attack at Kiyoshi, which the boy calmly dodged at every strike while going through his mental databases. _Let's see, the Uchiha clan has a doujutsu kekkei genkai called the Sharingan. It allows the brain to act at higher speeds, letting it make it seem as if the ninja is seeing things more slowly. It also allows the user to copy taijutsu and ninjutsu, and the Uchiha claim that it is impervious to genjutsu, though this is a lie. It is, however, far from perfect. All the moves that the eyes copy are based on reflex. The user himself is responsible for training in their abilities to truly gain a mastery of their techniques – a flaw that the Uchiha clan as of late seems to have more and more as they believe that simply copying a move copies the mastery of the move._

Kiyoshi allowed an evil smile onto his face. _This might actually be easy..._

Getting bored with the man's futile attacks, as well as noticing that he seemed to be wearing down, Kiyoshi blocked one of Daisuke's punches with an open hand before closing it and rapidly pulling the man forward into a waiting punch. Daisuke staggered back a little, only to quickly be pulled into another punch, and then another, and then another...

The children, as well as Teuchi and Ayame, stood there in awe as Kiyoshi stood there and kept on using the poor jounin like he was some demented form of a paddle-ball game, while Fenrir just sat there and yawned, bored already at what was happening.

After about ten punches, Daisuke's face was beginning to look like nothing except one large black and purple bruise, and after the eleventh punch, the man's neck let out a loud _SNAP_.

Kiyoshi released the hand of the now-dead body and watched as it fell to the ground. He was vaguely aware of Hiro letting out a fierce cry, and he quickly turned to see the kunai in the man's hand coming close towards him. Kiyoshi's hand shot out, batted away the weapon, and repeated his earlier move of grabbing the man's head and slamming it onto the ground. He then said, "_**Raiton: Sandākurō no Jutsu**_!"**

Electricity started flowing freely from Kiyoshi's hand, and Hiro began screaming wildly at the continual assault that was beginning to fry his internal organs. After about six seconds of this, Hiro's head then exploded, showering anyone close-by with a splattering of blood, melted bone, and brain matter.

Standing up, Kiyoshi shook his hand a few times, as it was jerking slightly from the electrical charge that had ran through it while small arcs of lightning continued to arch around his knuckles. He soon regained control of the hand and began walking over towards the stand. He motioned to Fenrir and said, "_**Dinner**_."

Fenrir showed a toothy grin and dragged the bodies into the alleyway to enjoy his meal in silence.

Kiyoshi then turned to the others as his eyes returned to normal. The children were all wide-eyed and slightly green in the face as they shivered, though again Kiyoshi noticed that Naruto's reactions weren't quite as severe as before. Silently cursing the village's stupidity, Kiyoshi turned to Teuchi and said, "Get the other three to their homes and explain what happened here, though you may wish to leave out some details. Naruto will be staying here again tonight."

Teuchi silently nodded before asking, "What about you?"

Kiyoshi gestured to the bloody mess that was outside. "First is clean-up. Gotta make sure that no one decides to try and pin this on Naruto. Thankfully, all of the civies had left the area, but you never know who might show up. After that..."

He looked to himself and sighed. "I think I'm going to be in a desperate need of a shower."

He looked back to the ramen chef. "Get going. No need to have these little ones involved as well."

Teuchi nodded and silently led the other children out the back, away from the scene, as Kiyoshi went out the front to begin his messy job.

* * *

Neji was walking towards the branch family's area of the compound with Hiashi by his side. Teuchi had explained that a couple of nin had been in a fight and had killed each other in front of the children, causing Neji to wonder just why the man felt the need to leave out the rest of the details.

_Unless it has something to do with the boy_, Neji thought. _It makes sense. They regarded him almost as he was their superior and followed his orders to the letter even though those actions could be considered treasonous. After all, a foreigner has just killed two village jounin, who also happened to be from a prestigious clan, but they go to all this trouble of hiding the facts. What's going on?_

They had arrived at his family's personal living area, and Hiashi, sneaking a worried glance at the boy, gently rapped on the door and said, "Hiashi."

There was movement heard on the other side, and the door slip open to reveal a man who looked exactly like Hiashi, though he had bandages on his forehead.

Hizashi Hyuuga looked at his brother first and then his son, before then asking, "Is something wrong, Hiashi?"

Hiashi sighed and gestured inside the room. "It might be best if we speak of this inside."

Hizashi frowned slightly in confusion but nodded his head and stepped back from the door to allow the two in. Once both people were inside, he slid the door shut behind them and sat himself across from the two. There was silence for a minute before Hizashi cleared his throat and said, "Has Neji done something, Hiashi? Is he in trouble with the clan?"

Since Neji was still silent and shaking a small bit, Hiashi sighed again and shook his head. "No, Hizashi, he's not. But your son has become a witness to an incident tonight. It seems two jounin decided to attack the other, and it resulted in the two killing each other in front of Neji and his friends."

Hizashi's mouth opened a little in shock, but he schooled his features before then turning to his son and asking gently, "Is this true, Neji?"

Neji was silent for a second, but before he could respond, Kiyoshi's earlier words came to him, causing him to change his reply.

"What is the Tenshi clan?"

Both men froze at his words, their eyes widening even more in shock, before Hizashi managed to stutter out, "W-What did you say?"

Neji looked at his father straight in the eyes and said, "Tou-san, tonight I had met a boy a few years older than me, dressed in a black garb that seemed to almost blend with the shadows, who said that his name was Kiyoshi Tenshi. What was odd about him was that he mentioned his clan helping ours three years ago during an incident we were involved in, though he seemed like he didn't wish to reveal any details."

The two men still sat there in shocked silence, so Neji continued on, his shakes starting to wear down as he let his curiosity grow more and more. "What Teuchi said had happened tonight was only partly true. Two Uchiha jounin were killed tonight, but it was because they became hostile towards Tenshi-san when their own arrogance got the best of them. Even more interesting was that a foreign boy with no discernable ranking killed two seasoned ninja with ease. There wasn't a scratch on him when he was done."

Neji finished his talking to see if there was any reaction from the two men before. Hiashi and Hizashi looked to the other, clearly thinking hard. Hizashi muttered lowly, "Could he be from the same clan, kyoudai?"

Hiashi nodded his head. "It does fit. His actions and behaviors do fit. But why now?"

The two men were so engrossed in their personal musings that they were visibly startled when Neji quietly asked, "Tou-san? Ojii-san? Do you know this boy?"

They stared at Neji for a second before Hizashi sighed a little and said, "Neji, do you remember Hinata-sama's third birthday? I remember you asking me why everyone seemed so on edge a few days afterward, and I simply told you not to worry about it."

Neji nodded his head, his curiosity starting to peak, and Hiashi continued, "There is more to the story than others realize..."

* * *

_**Flashback**_

Hiashi had burst out of the compound, chasing after the man who had taken Hinata. _Those Kumo dogs! How dare they come under the pretense of peace only to kidnap my only daughter?_ He pumped more power to his legs and sped up to catch the rogue nin.

He turned a corner and saw the man. The nin was one of the Kumo ambassadors from earlier that day, and was responsible for signing the peace treaty the next morning. Hiashi had attended the welcoming procession for them but didn't stay long since his daughter's third birthday was that day as well. But Hiashi had heard a scream from Hinata's room later in the night, and when he forced the door open, he saw the same man leap out the window with Hinata bound and gagged under his arm, tears streaming down her young face.

The man had obviously noticed him and turned around quickly, pulling a kunai from his pouch and pointing it at Hinata's neck.

Hiashi froze when he saw this, and the man sneered. "Oh? Not willing to risk your daughter getting hurt, are you? Fine by me. Now back away slowly and-"

The man's words were soon cut off when a flash of silver right behind him shot through his neck. The man's eyes widened in reflex, and the head rolled down his body, blood spraying out of the open wound. The now headless body dropped to the ground, and Hiashi rushed over to check on Hinata. Her eyes were widened in shock, and she was covered in what appeared to be gallons of blood, but Hiashi let out a sigh of relief when he found no injury on her. Letting out a small smile, he pulled the small girl towards him and held her tightly in his arms.

"Hiashi! Hinata!"

Hiashi turned towards the voice and smiled a little more when he saw it was his wife Ayaka, leading a pack of Hyuuga, including Hizashi, all prepared for a fight.

Ayaka dropped to the ground next to Hiashi, tears of relief pouring out of her eyes as she reached over and pulled Hinata into her embrace.

This continued for a few seconds, but everyone froze when they heard footsteps growing louder and louder. They looked to the shadows to see a silver-haired man with jade-green eyes that had irises like a cat. He was dressed in a leather battle trench coat that both hugged his muscular frame and yet seemed loose enough to allow for all forms of movement, with silver-colored metal pauldrons on his shoulders. His chest was bare, and he wore a pair of black leather pants and knee-high black leather boots In one of his black-gloved hands was a seven-foot long katana, the end of it still dripping the Kumo ambassador's blood.

Hiashi shot up and slipped into the stance for the clan's taijutsu, the Jyuuken, as Ayaka shielded Hinata with her body and the rest of the Hyuuga clansmen stood ready next to Hiashi. But the man simply looked at them lazily before turning back to the dead body. His deep baritone voice soon filled the otherwise silent alley. "So, this puppet of the council of Kumo really was attempting to kidnap a clan princess." His chuckle sent a shiver down of the other people's spines. "How...unfortunate for the man, as well as his companions."

Hiashi growled out, "You! Who are you? Are you in league with this man? Answer me!"

The man looked back to the Hyuuga, his cat eyes seeming to pierce right through them all, before letting out another small chuckle. "How funny. Do you really think that if I was this fool's ally, I would have severed his head from his worthless body? If anything, I believe you owe me thanks for stopping this man from killing the little one."

Hiashi relaxed his stance, though his glare never left his face, and he then heard another voice call out. "Hiashi-san! Ayaka-san!"

Turning, he saw the Hokage and some of his ANBU appear, surrounding the area. The old man approached the Hyuuga clan head, and Hiashi acknowledged him with a "Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi looked around the area, taking in the stranger and the headless body of the Kumo nin, before asking, "Stranger, I ask you to identify yourself. What is your purpose in our village?"

The man shrugged nonchalantly. "I traced my marks to this village and eliminated them. It was even more easier for me when one of the fools decided to step into the open and attempt a kidnap."

Sarutobi glanced at the body before staring back at the man again. "No matter your mission, you have now killed a man who was supposed to be under our protection."

The man shrugged again. "Sorry, but that's not my problem." Swinging his katana, he stabbed the detached head onto the end of his sword.

He then turned and started walking back into the shadows before Sarutobi said, "At least tell who you are so that we may know who was responsible for this man's death."

The man paused and then turned his head. "My name...is Sephiroth." He then turned back and walked fully into the shadows, disappearing from sight.

His voice then echoed off of the walls. "Of the Tenshi clan."

* * *

_**Five days later...**_

Sarutobi sat in his chair as he stared angrily at the new Kumo ambassador in front of him. The man had a satisfied smirk on his face, as he now knew that Sarutobi and Konoha as a whole was boxed into a corner. _This idiot refuses to believe that we are not to be blamed for the death of their nin! Just because they happened to all die within this village doesn't mean that we were directly responsible for their deaths. Damn that Tenshi character! If only he had left one of them alive!_

Still, it was easy to see Kumo's point. It didn't matter if Konoha was responsible for the ambassadors' deaths; they were honor-bound to protect them no matter what. And what did it matter if one of them decided to kidnap one of the clan heirs? They technically had diplomatic immunity, even though the treaty hadn't even been signed yet. If one of the ambassadors decided to kidnap a small girl, no matter what her position, then he was still within his legal rights to do so.

Hiashi sat next to the Hoakge, fury boiling over him as he listened to the Kumo nin speak, oily satisfaction just oozing off the wretched man's voice. "Now, our demands are quite simple. Since you killed our nin, we demand that you give us one of the Hyuuga clan. In fact, my village feels that we are being quite generous, since we could demand people from all of your clans in reparations. But one of the Hyuuga will do, in any case."

Hiashi had to restrain himself from killing the man. "Oh? And which of the Hyuuga were you planning on taking for your own?"

The man lazily turned his attention to the angered Hyuuga leader, and replied with a bored tone, "Why not your own daughter, Hyuuga-sama? After all, it would be fitting for you to give up a political figure for the three you all killed."

Hiashi bolted out of his seat at this. "I refuse to listen to such nonsensical garbage! Screw your damn diplomatic immunity! Those men were in the wrong, and if anything, _you_ owe _us_ reparations!"

The man sneered. "Oh? And what if we let the other nations know that Konoha is a pack of back-stabbing liars? How long do you think that this village will last before-"

The man's little self-triumphant tirade was suddenly cut off when a katana was shoved through the back of his head and out of the front of his face. A seven-foot katana that many on the room recognized.

Sephiroth seemed to appear out of nowhere the instant the katana speared the man's head. He had a malicious grin on his face as he chuckled out, "Ah, more puppets from those council fools."

Sarutobi shot up from his seat and pointed a finger at the man. "You! What have you done? How much more trouble will you cause this village before you finally leave us?"

The silver-haired man laughed quietly as he pulled out the sword with a sickening _SCHLICK_. He ran a cloth across the blade to remove the blood as he spoke. "I? I have come here to repair the damage that I have caused."

Sarutobi lowered his finger and slowly sat back into his seat, his fingers intertwining as he narrowed his eyes and growled out, "_Explain_."

The taller man just sat into the chair that the dead nin formerly occupied, crossing his leg over the other as he leaned the side of his head onto a hand. "You see, the Tenshi clan had received word through one of our higher-ranking spies of the mission those men had: to retrieve an unmarked member of the Hyuuga clan, preferably a girl for breeding stock, without the Raikage becoming aware until the target was in the village's custody. This would have caused quite a few problems for the nations in the long run, so my clan was called in. We were supposed to catch them outside of Konoha's walls, but they pushed their plans forward and reached this place before we could get to them. I decided to continue the mission anyways, but since that blasted Kumo council refused to get the message and send _this_ fool as well," He gestured to the dead man on the floor, "we now have no choice but to intervene directly."

All were visibly shocked at this man's words, but Sarutobi managed to gather himself and ask, "So, what are we supposed to do now?"

Sephiroth raised a thin eyebrow at the old man. "We? _We_ are going to do nothing. _I_ am going to take our friend here and make sure that the Raikage personally gets the details of this little stunt. All you Konoha shinobi are going to do is sit back, twiddle your thumbs and wait for the messenger from Kumo declaring they were wrong and asking you to forgive them."

Sephiroth stood up from the chair, grabbing the body in one hand on his way up, and nodded to the men. He then turned and vanished before their eyes, taking all evidence of the body with him.

Hiashi sat there in stunned silence before turning to the Hokage. "Hokage-sama? What should we do?"

Sarutobi sat there and contemplated Sephiroth's parting words before shaking his head. "Nothing. We'll do nothing. If this Sephiroth character is on the level with us, then we'll be hearing from Kumo very soon. Still, get the nin ready, just in case Kumo decides to retaliate with force."

All present saluted the old man and replied, "Hai, Hokage-sama!"

* * *

The air was tense within the village. Word had spread that a rogue nin had murdered the ambassadors from Kumo, and Konoha was getting the blame placed on them. Everyone within the village was anticipating an attack of some sort to happen soon, and they knew that Kumo was going to give it everything they had for this slight.

The ninja patrolled constantly around the village, waiting for some signal for the attack. The villagers were making sure to keep near of the bunkers scattered around the village, just in case they had to flee fast. Classes at the Academy were canceled, as all the teachers were needed at the battlelines for the time being. Now they were just waiting for the hammer to fall.

One of the sentries at the front gate caught some movement on the horizon, heading slowly towards them. He grabbed the binoculars from his hip-pack and focused in on the figure. It was a single Kumo nin, waving a white flag in the air, a little frantically in fact. Almost as if this man was afraid to fail in his mission. The sentry signaled for the Hokage to come to the front gate, and within seconds, the Hokage stood there, waiting silently for the man to approach.

Once the man had entered the gate, he walked towards the Hokage, his legs shaking a little and his eyes almost permanently widened in a state of shock, fear, and panic. He slowly reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a small scroll. Unfurling it, he read out loud, his voice firm despite what his stature said otherwise. "Honorable Hokage-sama and the residents of Konoha, we, the Yondaime Raikage and the village of Kumo, wish to extend our full apologies and condolences for the actions of our now deposed council. We have removed these threats to the peace between our two great nations and disposed of them permanently by means of execution on the ground of treason against the Raikage's rule. As an offering of good faith upon our actions, we extend to you several of our high-ranking Raiton jutsus for your village's personal use as well as a collection of various high-value articles that our clans wish to extend to the Hyuuga clan for the trauma that was inflicted upon their heiress. We hope that at a future date, when things have calmed down and we can put this travesty behind us, we can once again try to extend the promise of alliance to each other, without failing of honesty from either side. Sincerely, A, the Yondaime Raikage."

The villagers stood there in baffled silence, until one let out a mighty cheer and caused a chain reaction from the rest of the village. As everyone was cheering, the Hokage stepped forward and accepted the letter from the Kumo nin, examining it for a quick second , before nodding his head. The man then pulled out two sealing scrolls, handing the containing the jutsus to the Hokage while passing the other one to Hiashi.

As both men accepted their scrolls, the Kumo nin began looking around the area, still in a state of panic. His odd behavior was noticed by several people around, and they began wondering just what was wrong with the man. As he kept looking around and muttering to himself, the Hokage got closer to the nin and asked, "Is something the matter?" The man didn't appear to hear and kept muttering for a few more seconds. He turned around, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

A figure dressed in a full black robe stood at the entrance to the village. Not much could be told about who the man was, but the Kumo nin's eyes widened even further as his mutterings became louder and more clear. "I-I did w-what was told of m-me. My village has listened. We did what was commanded. No! S-Stay away! STAY AWAY!"

The figure did nothing except stand there, until it nodded his hooded head. As the figure turned around, Hiashi swore he saw jade cat's irises under the hood.

The figure then vanished, leaving behind a few black feathers.

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

Neji sat there in complete shock at what he had just learned. All that tension that day suddenly made sense, and Neji began to wonder just how close they were to war.

Hiashi sighed. "No one had ever seen that Tenshi nin again, and everyone simply forgot about it in the ensuing festivities. I doubt even the Hokage remembers the man, probably not even when the boy mentioned his name to him.. But we in the Hyuuga do, especially Hizashi and I."

Neji looked at his father with a confused face, to which Hizashi gave a reply. "We already knew that Kumo would have demanded Hinata-sama as part of the reparations, but Hiashi had decided that he would go instead. After all, if they were going to demand a political figure, it may have as well as been on our own terms. Secretly and without Hiashi's knowledge, however, when the Hyuuga council caught wind of this idea, they pulled me aside and said they were going to tell the Hokage to give me up instead."

Neji's face went back to shock, even more than before, and he stammered out, "B-But WHY?"

Hizashi shook his head. "I may be only the head of the branch family of the clan, but I'm still an important political figure in my own right. We knew Kumo wasn't going to specify WHICH political figure to give up because they were arrogant enough to believe that they had boxed us in. Giving me up meant that, due to the Caged Bird Seal, Kumo couldn't gain the Byakugan but yet would be unable to retaliate since they got what they wanted."

Subconsciously, Neji raised his hand to the bandages that were on his own head. Silence reigned for a few minutes before Hizashi smiled and said, "Now, I've answered your questions enough for tonight, and it's quite late. Your kaa-san is going to rather cross with me if she finds out I've kept you up this late telling you old stories. Go get ready for bed. You'll need the rest."

Neji nodded his head and stood up before bowing to the two men. "Tou-san, Hiashi-ojii-san."

Hiashi nodded his head to the young boy. "Good night, Neji."

Neji went to the door leading to the bedrooms and closed it behind himself. Once Hizashi was sure that the boy had left, he turned to his brother. "What do you think, kyoudai? Do you believe this Kiyoshi might be related to that one man?"

Hiashi nodded his head, eyes staring at something unseen as he answered, "I have no doubt. I won't claim to know the complete connection between the two, but it's clear enough to show that they probably from the same clan."

"What shall we do?"

Hiashi thought for a moment before standing up. "If the boy has made himself known to the Hokage, then he must have a reason for walking in the open. I have no doubt that the Hokage will call a full council meeting tomorrow, so be prepared."

Hizashi nodded his head as he led his brother to the door. "Hai."

Once outside the door, Hiashi turned around. "No matter what happens, we owe a debt to that clan. We'll help the boy in any way possible."

At Hizashi's nod, Hiashi then turned and walked to his own rooms as Hizashi gently closed the door.

* * *

Clean-up was always part of Kiyoshi's job that he absolutely hated. It wasn't so much that he hated the blood and gore; he was used to that long ago. He just hated the tedious process of cleaning an area in every possible way, then checking and then re-checking at least two more times to make sure the area was so spotless that not even an Inuzuka hound could find anything.

He was also kind of irritated that he now had to dispose of his clothes. Not that it really mattered if someone pointed the finger at him for these murders; no one could legally do a thing since he had full authority to do as he pleased as well as complete immunity from the laws of every village. It was just he would never get the blood fully out of his clothes, no matter how hard he tried. Now he was just going to have to burn them, since throwing them in the bin would just present a possible opportunity for those who may turn against him.

_Best to leave as little evidence as I can. That's always been our way._

Stepping out of the shower in the Ichiraku residence, he went off into a second spare bedroom that the two ninja had offered him; Naruto was currently sleeping soundly in the other one.

As he dropped the towel onto the floor, he moved a hand to a seal located on his ankle, and a scroll was summoned into his hand. He unfurled it and laid it onto his bed, looking over what he had while mentally going through the list. _Armor is just going to stand out at this moment, which is not something I need. I disposed the last of the shinobi garbs that I had collected from various dead nin – an oversight on my part, but then again I'd still rather not bother with suits that have no room for durability. __Sigh__. One of the sets of my clan it is then..._

Mentally crossing off various selections, he finally came across the kanji for "seven", and, perusing through the list, finally unsealed the markings for "Demon Gunman".

As the clothes flashed into existence, a knock was heard on the door before Ayame opened it and stepped in, her mind elsewhere as she said, "Kiyoshi-sama, I wish to...ask...you..." Her eyes finally seeing what was in front of her, they widened in shock as she left out a small pained gasp.

Kiyoshi's body was littered with various scars, some small while others showing what might have once been life-threatening wounds. Even more imposing were the various seals that covered his body more than the scars did. Probably the most prominent were the ten seals that were located on his chest, though the first two appeared to have a broken look to them. He also had what appeared to be thirteen of them run down the top of each arm. On his back, located on his shoulder blades were what appeared to be tattoos rather than seals, a wolf on his left shoulder and a dragon on his right, though the dragon appeared to have a very faded look. Finally, while Ayame was unable to tell what some of the other seals were for as she herself was not very familiar with many of the sealing arts, she could tell that most of them were in fact interconnected.

She kept staring at him in silence for a few seconds, which was more than long enough for Kiyoshi to simply sigh and say, "Every person in my clan goes through some of the most deadly tests known to man. At the end of the test, if the person has proven themselves, they then have these seals inscribed on them, written with their own blood."

Her face turning rather pale, Ayame managed to choke out, "I...I see. That must have been hard for someone your age."

Shaking his head ruefully, Kiyoshi reached up to a seal on the back of his neck and tapped it with some chakra, causing all the seals except for the ones on his wrists to suddenly vanish, leaving only the said seals and his scars. He then said as he started to pull on his clothes, "Certain conditions have to be met for each person, so the age when the test happens is different for all of us."

After quickly pulling on his pants and shirt, he put on his boots as he muttered, "I've had these since I was five."

No sound came out of the ramen waitress's mouth, as she was too preoccupied with not fainting at this revelation. Kiyoshi simply continued strapping on his boots before standing and picking up a peculiar glove from the bed.

In fact, the boy's new outfit was peculiar in itself. Again, he was dressed in black, but now, he had pointed boots on his feet, the shirt and pants had something of a leaner look to them, and on the boy's shoulders was a red cape with a high collar (covering the lower half of the boy's face) that was held closed with various buckles and looked tattered at the edges, though it was hard to tell if that was part of the effect or simply coincidence. Completing the look was a red bandanna on the boy's forehead, and on his left hand was a golden plated glove with fingertips sharp enough to be claws.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Kiyoshi stared for a second before his eyes turned sky-blue, signaling his activation of _**Manadoraibu**_, and within seconds, his hair began growing longer until it reached his upper back and had taken on a more shaggy appearance than before.

At Ayame's questioning glance, Kiyoshi switched his eye back to normal before saying, "It's rather easy for my clan to make small changes to their appearance just using pure chakra." He pulled off the regular glove he was wearing and held up his hand. "In fact, if I wanted to, I can make my nails do _this_." Suddenly, his fingernails lengthened a little and sharpened to a fine point. Kiyoshi then smiled. "By hardening the nails with chakra, I can make them as strong as diamonds, more than enough to tear off the face of some cocky nin. So, even if all my weapons are gone, I still have something aside from my bare fists to fight with." The nails then shrank just as fast as they had grown, and Kiyoshi slipped the glove on. "Now, you wished to ask me something?"

Ayame stared at him for a few seconds, her mind starting to suffer from information overload, before shaking her head clear and saying, "Uh, yes. I was wondering if you had found a place to stay yet."

"I've rented a room at one of the hotels. Why?"

Ayame gestured to Naruto's room next door. "Tou-san and I have decided it would just be easier for Naruto-kun to stay here for the time being. We were just curious to know if you would like to make use of this room, at least as a base of operations. We have other entrances to this house hidden on the roof, in the wall behind the store in the alley, and through a tunnel that can be found behind a dumpster a block away from here, so slipping in and out would be easier for you if you need to lay low at any time."

Kiyoshi seemed to ponder this for a moment before finally nodding his head. "I thank you for the offer. To be honest, staying at the hotel makes me nervous since I don't know if anyone on the staff might be on Danzo's payroll."

He then turned towards the window. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go make contact with someone claiming to be a friend. If I'm not back by seven in the morning, tell Sarutobi-san that I've been compromised and probably in need of assistance. Let him know that I give him full authority to go after Danzo and use any method necessary to extract the information of my whereabouts from him."

Ayame nodded her head in response before watching in awe as the red cloak suddenly surrounded Kiyoshi closely, and the boy seemed to fly out the window, the cloak making him seem like he was a wraith.***

Ayame walked over and closed the window behind him, and as she walked out of the room, she couldn't help but wonder, _Just who are you, Kiyoshi Tenshi?_

* * *

Kiyoshi passed by several buildings in a red blur. It was better than using chakra to jump from one building to the next, since not only was it slower, but it really let Kiyoshi to cut some of his power loose. After all, why jump when you can freakin _fly_?

Landing quickly on a building not far from the Monument, his cloak now billowing around him as his feet touched the roof, he stomped his foot on the ground and sent out a wide pulse of energy. The pulse traveled straight up the mountain and pinpointed several life sources. One was on the Fourth's head, while another six were surrounding the area, hidden from view and watching that one spot.

_If this person is a friend, then they might be unaware of the others or simply unable to do anything. If they're not, then I'll just simply have less to worry about from the traitor._

He crouched quickly and then jumped straight into the sky. He kept gaining height until he had broken past the clouds. As his momentum slowed, it seemed as if he was floating amidst the night sky, the full moon gazing down upon him. For a moment, Kiyoshi showed a small smile. _Beautiful..._

He then abruptly twisted and hovered a hand over one of the seals on his left arm. A long, black spear with a silver triangle point on the top and what appeared to be a dragon's wing seemlessly integrated to the shaft on the bottom.

Kiyoshi smirked a little. _The Black Dragon Spear..._

He backflipped a little before pointing his body downward, the spear in both his hands. As Kiyoshi broke through the clouds again, the spear tip began glowing with a bright light. He then thrust the spear five times, sending out five shafts of light in the shape of the spear, before flipping right-side up and pointing the spear down. The spear began to shine again, and Kiyoshi continued to drop.

* * *

The figure that stood upon the Fourth's head opened a small pocketwatch in their hand and glanced at it. _Five minutes until the boy shows, or at least I hope he does. He needs to understand the gravity of the situation._

The figure then glanced behind themselves before looking back, noticing the ROOT members that were following her. _It seems I might not make it out of here alive. The ROOT will do whatever it takes to ensure their master's secrecy. Hopefully, I can at least let the boy know what he needs to know._

As the seconds ticked away, the figure looked to the moon again and frowned when they noticed something fly past. _A bird? It must be. I can see the wings on it._

However, the thought continued to nag at the figure, and it only grew when they noticed six lights begin to shine down from the sky. _What the-?_

Five of the lights hit where the ROOT were hidden, taking out five of them before they could blink as the shafts of light slipped into their uppers backs and pinned them to the ground. The sixth one looked to his comrades in bewilderment, before a red-cloaked figure dropped onto him, shoving the glowing tip of a spear into his brain. Not one sound had been made during this exchange, and the assaulter then stood, revealing Kiyoshi.

The figure smiled a little. _Right on time._ "It seems as if you truly are better than any ninja we can offer, Tenshi-sama."

Kiyoshi swung the spear a few times before making it disappear in a flash of light. He stretched out his right arm, and another flash in his hand revealed a gun with three barrels now pointing at the other person. "To what business do have with me..."

The moonlight shifted slightly onto the figure, revealing an old woman around Sarutobi's age. She had completely gray hair that was tied up into a bun on her head with two pearl-ended pins holding it up, and her eyes were squinting rather badly, a sign that she may be losing her sight. A small smile was on her face as she stared at Kiyoshi while simply standing there, her arms crossed behind her back.

"...Koharu Utatane?"

Koharu chuckled a little at Kiyoshi's guarded nature. "That gun will hardly be necessary, Tenshi-sama. A gift from the Land of Iron up north, I take it?"

The gun flashed away in more light, and Kiyoshi crossed his arms. "Family heirloom, I guess. It belongs to my sofu."****

Koharu simply chuckled again before turning away and looking out over the village again. "As for the ROOT you've just killed, you know now as well as I do that Danzo is a paranoid bastard, distrusting of even his allies. Though tonight, he may have been justified in his delusions of fear."

"What is it that you wish to discuss, Utatane-san?"

Koharu was silent for a moment before letting out a tired sigh. "I have been spying on Danzo for quite some time. Both I and Homura Mitokado, my and Sarutobi's former teammate, were approached by Danzo before the Fourth had sacrificed himself against the Kyuubi. He offered us a way to make Konoha strong and remembered through the ages as the strongest shinobi village ever, possibly even making the Elemental Nations into the Konoha Empire."

Kiyoshi snorted a little as he walked over to a tree and leaned against it. "An insect wishing for an impossible dream."

Koharu nodded her head. "Indeed. I thought the man insane and initially refused, but then the Fourth approached me and asked for my assistance in the matter. He wanted me to keep an eye on Danzo and report whatever he did that was deemed suspicious."

Kiyoshi glanced at Koharu and raised his eyebrow. "Only you? Why not Mitokado as well?"

Koharu shook her head. "While Hiruzen, Homura and Danzo were good friends back when we were a team, after Hiruzen had taken the Hokage position, the other two began to get jealous. In fact, I think Homura was always jealous of Hiruzen and thought of him more as a rival than a true friend, while Danzo at least still treated Hiruzen with a good deal of respect. After that happened though, both men began to drift from Hiruzen, while I just stayed out it since I just chalked it up to boys being boys."

Kiyoshi rolled his eyes at her statement but let her continue. "After the Fourth's request, I went back to Danzo and agreed to help him. At first, there was nothing that was really condemning. The Third Shinobi War was still in its ending stages, and Danzo was authorized to perform some of the more dirtier jobs that needed doing. After the war, however, Danzo kept his ROOT around, secretly approaching potential clients with the offer of doing missions that most shinobi villages would have deemed at both risky and morally questionable. Tell me, does the destruction of an orphanage really sound like a justified reason so that a businessman can move in and build a shinobi training center, simply because the orphanage happened to be located on a prime piece of land with good locations?"

Kiyoshi raised his eyebrow at her again, wondering where she was going with this exactly. "No, not really. All the businessman had to do was offer a different place that the orphanage could move into while taking the former location for his own. Played right, he would have gained back more from the shinobi academy to compensate for the loss of the other building."

Koharu chuckled a little before saying, "So young, and yet you have a better understanding of economics than half the fools of this village. Still, Danzo didn't care since it gave him an opening to take contracts that would undermine the other shinobi nations. By doing those missions, he has now undercut the economies of various villages, taking out a small percentage that is steadily growing larger with every ROOT soldier that he gains. By undercutting their economies, those villages would start losing more contracts because they are unable to properly train and equip their shinobi."

Kiyoshi nodded his head. "Improper training then leads to more deaths of the other villages shinobi. More deaths result in more public contracts being lost to Konoha, who would have the appearance of having fewer botched missions than the rest of the Elemental Nations. Not to also mention that Sarutobi-san would be none the wiser since he would just chalk it up to the Konoha training program being better than the rest, when in fact, it's simply throwing a knife into Konoha's foot. No doubt the kids who fail their genin exams are taken back in and given "remedial training" by ROOT officers under the disguise of chuunin instructors who are filtered into the system amongst the regular teachers. They then take the kids who have the most promise to ROOT Headquarters and begin their formal training under Danzo's command, and those new genin finally graduate after "swearing" life and loyalty to Danzo via the seals that are tattooed onto their bodies."

Koharu turned back to Kiyoshi and stared at him with open-mouthed shock before finally saying, "Y-Yes. How did you know all of this?"

Kiyoshi chuckled in return. "Just a very educated guess. I've already ran into quite a few ROOT members since my arrival yesterday, and I discovered the seals on their body. Given what you've now told me, I simply connected the dots. I now know where he's getting his army, and it isn't just by taking them from the orphanages and kidnapping them from clans. The academy must be investigated. Cut off one of his primary sources..."

"...and the whole house of cards tumbles. A structure made with three supporting pillars cannot stand if one of those pillars falls." Koharu finished with a malicious smile.

Kiyoshi mirrored that same smile. "Also, I'll set something up for the shopkeepers under Danzo's thumb by tomorrow before the council meeting that Sarutobi will call. Getting rid of them will cause Danzo to lose a source of support and income. After all, dead bodies and jailed prisoners don't pay the rent."

Koharu actually cackled at his words. "Boy, you are truly devious! Too bad you weren't here when the Fourth had died. The civilian council wouldn't have lasted two hours!"

Kiyoshi merely smiled that same smile and let Koharu finish her cackling. Once she had composed herself, she turned towards the path downwards and said, "I'd best get back. If I'm up here too late, then I might miss the entertainment tomorrow. I'll be sure to bring Hiruzen everything that I've collected. If we're lucky, Danzo might be visiting the executioner's block before the day is done."

She started down the path, but stopped when Kiyoshi murmured, "_**Wait.**_"

She stopped and slowly turned back to see the Shinpan no Me staring right back at her. She stood there for a minute, letting Kiyoshi do whatever that he did when he brought out those eyes. After a few minutes, she finally asked, "Are you naturally this distrusting, or is just when dealing with Konoha residents?"

Kiyoshi stared at her for another minute before answering, "_**One can never be too careful with dealing with an unknown ally. How was I to know that you wouldn't suddenly stab me in the back?**_"

Koharu quirked an eyebrow and asked, "And what do those eyes tell you on where I stand? Are you truly looking into my soul? For I can tell you that despite all the evil that I have done, I truly have done what I could for the good of both everybody as well as the individual. Any sin that I have had to make bears heavily on my old heart, and not a day goes by when I do not get up and think of what I could have done differently to ease the suffering of those I had to sacrifice."

Silence reigned for a few minutes as Kiyoshi listened to her words. Finally he turned away from her and walked over to the spot on the Fourth's head that she had formerly occupied. "_**Truly, you and Sarutobi-san are more alike than you realize. Go home, Koharu-san, and rest well. For I will not come after you this day.**_"

Koharu bowed to the young boy and walked off, while Kiyoshi still stood there and gazed out on the village. He continued to do so for the next half an hour, staring at the village with those same eyes he used to pass judgment on others.

Finally, he channeled some chakra as well as another energy into himself, enhancing his voice for all within the village to hear no matter if they were awake or asleep, as he then whispered out, "_**Hear me, oh Konoha. I have walked amongst you, seen your thoughts, and listened to your darkest desires, and I have deemed many of you as sinners. I have seen you condemn a boy to a life of solitude and hatred – a boy you should have treated as a hero.**_"

* * *

Ayame was startled when she heard Kiyoshi's voice sound out around herself as she was about to slip into Naruto's bed to keep him company as he slept. _Wha-? Kiyoshi-san?_ But as she listened to his words, a malicious smile appeared on her face. _Ooooooo, Konoha is screeeeeeewed..._

* * *

"_**I have seen you pervert justice so that you may inflict suffering upon others. I have seen an arrogance that will be your downfall.**_"

* * *

Sarutobi was sitting in his personal study, finishing off a few final documents, as he listened to the young warrior. He let out a cackle as Kiyoshi began his punishment of those who stood against him. _I think tomorrow is going to be quite fun._

* * *

"_**Because you picture yourselves untouchable, let me show just how powerless you are. Many of you think that the deaths of the mob that raided Naruto Uzumaki's apartment last night were caused by said child. Allow me to correct you on this ignorant belief. I was the one responsible for those deaths.**_" Kiyoshi let out a dark chuckle. "_**And let me tell all of you, it was rather fun to listen to them all scream as I tore them limb from limb.**_"

* * *

Kakashi and Yuugao were standing guard outside the Ichiraku residence. Several of the ANBU present were listening partially as they watched all activity in the village practically halt as the boy spoke. They noticed some of the people shiver at the voice, while others were simply confused. Kakashi narrowed his eyes under the mask. _Feeling a little guilt for what you've done to your greatest hero's son, you hypocrites?_

* * *

"_**When I am done with you, not only will you realize the truth regarding your so-called threat from the Kyuubi, but you will realize that it is the least of your problems when it comes myself and my clan.**_"

* * *

Itachi was sitting in his parent's house, listening to his mother Mikoto worriedly talk to his father Fugaku. He heard snatches of the conversation as Mikoto tried to reason with Fugaku. "The voice...knows of Kyuubi and Naruto...might even know of what you and the others plan...pure foolishness anyway-" She was cut off by a resounding _SLAP_, and Itachi moved quietly to the door and peeked inside to see his mother laying on the floor as she gently held her now reddening cheek. He was about to intervene when he heard his father say, "I'll teach you to respect me!", but watched as his father froze and paled as Kiyoshi continued. Itachi meanwhile smirked at Fugaku. _Just what are you planning, Father, and why are you afraid of someone outside the clan finding out?_

* * *

"_**However, I am not completely without mercy, as I know that some of you are not completely evil and do try to help others, especially of the one I speak. For that, you shall be thanked and rewarded for your efforts, though be warned that not all sins are washed away by the acts you do if they have no meaning behind them. So, to see just how many of you truly deserve the first of your punishments, the guilty - whether they be man, woman or child - shall be subjected to their worst nightmares for the rest of the night, unable to wake up or die from the tortures you shall feel. If you are innocent, then you shall sleep peacefully and will not awaken until morning; if you are guilty, well, need I say more?**_" He held out his hand, and a mystical light began to form with it, growing brighter and brighter before shooting into the sky and surrounding the village like an etheral dome. He then whispered ominously, "_**Welcome to hell, Konoha.**_"

As Kiyoshi finished his words, all within the barrier, save for Kiyoshi, began to drift off to sleep. Those that had been awake before began to slump over as an exhaustion they hadn't felt earlier began to take them over and started to guide them to their homes, shutting off anything that may inadvertently cause destruction as the residents slept.

Kiyoshi sat down on to the head, and he smiled as he listened to the first of the screams of terror begin to rip through the air.

* * *

*Oji-san - Uncle; be aware than this is different than "Ojii-san" which means "Old Man" or, informally, "Grandfather"

**Raiton: Sandākurō – Thunder Release: Thunder Claw

***Kyoudai – Brother

****Sofu - Grandfather

**A/N: Sorry this is taking so long,. I'm leaving for college in next week, and I'm currently in the process of fine tuning everything so that I won't have any problems when I finally move down to the dorms. However, the good news is that with the lesser distractions, I might be able to find more time to write this thing (depending on the amount of reviews I get as well as the number of votes on my poll; speaking of which, BE SURE TO VOTE, FELLOW READERS! Just look in my profile.) Please make sure to review, as I do enjoy reading the comments from other people, so long as they are constructive. Nothing irritates me more than some person writing down that they hate a story without writing down anything helpful.**

**Also, be warned that the poll on my profile will be closed after this next chapter. So make sure to vote and get your friends to vote as well. While Ino may be in the lead, Hinata and Sakura can still make a comeback if they managed to pull enough votes together. You have been notified!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Quick note: Okay, I realize that I keep changing fonts on you, so I managed to nail it down by this point, and I'll hopefully take the time to go back and fix this in earlier chapters.**_

"Regular text" - Normal people speaking

_"Quoted italics"_ - Cosmos/gods speaking

_Regular italics_ - Thoughts

**"Quoted bold"** - Chaos/demons speaking

_**"Bold italics"**_ - Kiyoshi using Shinpan no Me

_Underlined italics_ - Jutsu/Spell/Technique name

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

Naruto awoke with a clear-headedness that he had never felt before. It's as if that last sleep was unfogging his mind and taking away some of the emotional pain he had been forced to endure. It also, however, made him more aware than he normally was in the morning, and this awareness alerted him to the fact that his head was buried into Ayame's bust as she enveloped him in a very motherly hug. It was actually amazing that her hold was positioned in such a way that Naruto could still breathe easy despite the tightness he felt around his neck.

He froze for a few seconds, his mind trying to process a way to get out of this position without waking the girl while also starting to freak out more and more as she held him longer. _What do I do? How am I supposed to get out without waking her? OH MAN, I AM DEAD!_

His rustling caused the girl to stir a little, and Naruto froze completely as Ayame's eyes began to flutter open and focus on the situation before her. At first she did nothing, but soon a wry smile formed on her face. She ruffled his hair as she playfully said, "Oh my, Naruto-kun. Are you feeling a little frisky this morning?"

Naruto's face turned an interesting shade of tomato-red, and Ayame simply laughed out loud as she ruffled his hair again before standing up from the bed. She stretched a little, chuckling still, before saying to him, "Come on, you. Let's get you dressed. Kiyoshi-san had left some clothes for you to wear for the day before leaving last night." She suddenly frowned as she realized what she said, and she looked to the alarm clock. It read 6:00 AM, and she added, "Actually, he should be back very soon...I hope."

The door opened, and Kiyoshi walked in, a towel around his waist as he used another to dry his wet hair. "Don't worry, Ayame-san. I'm right here. I actually went to bed about three hours ago." He stopped drying his hair and directing a smirk at the two of them, as he knew something that they didn't. "Sleep well?"

Naruto nodded his head rapidly and happily blurted out, "That was the best sleep that I ever had! It's almost as if I felt all the peace of heaven enter into me and kept me safe." The small boy's face took a slightly glazed look as he said this, as if he were trying to recapture the memory.

Kiyoshi raised his eyebrow at the boy's explanation and chortled silently to himself for a few seconds before saying, "Well, that's good, Naruto. It's nice to know that you slept well."

He glanced at the clock and said, "How about some breakfast? I happen to know a very good breakfast dish from Kumo-"

He was interrupted as an ANBU with a Rat mask shunshined into the room. He held out a small envelope as he quietly said, "Tenshi-sama, I have a missive for you from Hokage-sama."

Kiyoshi's eyes flashed to _Shinpan no Me_ for a second before nodding and taking the envelope, saying as his eyes turned back to normal, "Thank you. Back to your duties."

Rat saluted him and said, "Sir!", before vanishing in another shunshin.

Kiyoshi thumbed open the envelope and pulled out the note. Sarutobi's handwriting was unmistakable.

_**Kiyoshi-san,**_

_** I will call a full village council meeting at 10:00 AM, in order to reveal to them the law that has been placed. If you would like, you can find me in my office an hour before, as the council will no doubt attempt to meet early to try and throw me off. I intend to use this time to observe their behavior, as your rather marvelous technique will no doubt put certain members on edge. Also, if you have any other tricks that you think would be useful in further unbalancing them, it would be very appreciated.**_

_** Hiruzen Sarutobi**_

Kiyoshi smirked a little as his wrist flicked quickly, causing a flash flame that turned the note to ashes. _Oh, Sarutobi-san, you have no idea..._

He turned back to Ayame and Naruto, Naruto yet again sitting there in amazed shock at what was happening before him while Ayame had a pensive look on her face. She then carefully asked, "I take it something else is going to happen today?"

Kiyoshi just smirked and lightly said, "Maybe, but the more immediate concern right now is filling my stomach. I'll go start making that dish I was talking about after I get dressed. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

As he began to leave the room, Ayame then asked, "And then what do you plan on doing?"

When Kiyoshi looked back at her, his face was sporting a feral smile as he replied, "Cause some chaos."

* * *

Kiyoshi sauntered out of the ramen stand, dressed in his new clothes that he had..."acquired" from one of the shopkeepers. _Oh well, it's not like I'm stealing from an honest man – just a dishonest one who overcharged a lonely orphan an arm and a leg for clothes that not even a stray cat would use for a bed. Hmmmm. What do you call a thief who steals from another thief?_ He let out a loud cackle, causing a few of the more sleep-deprived people to jump and look around frantically.

He was currently dressed in a pair of dark-navy jeans that almost looked black and a white hoodie that covered his head completely when drawn over, achieving that "hiding-my-face-in-the-shadows-of-my-cowl" effect. He had fingerless black gloves covering his hands, and on his feet were a pair of close-toed ninja boots. In all, he looked like a brawler about ready to start a fight.

That last thought actually made him pause. His eyes widened as he looked in a shop window and examined himself. _OH GODS! I LOOK LIKE TIFA-OBA-CHAN*!_ Letting out a frustrated mental scream at the realization that his family was rubbing a little _too_ much off on him, he sighed out loud and quickly shunshined off to Hokage Tower. _Well, at least it's not a pink jacket. I don't think my masculinity could take a hit like that..._

* * *

In an as-of-right-now unknown location, a brown-haired, emerald-eyed woman in a pink kimono and a pink bow holding her hair into a braided ponytail sneezed as she was about to eat her breakfast. She then scowled as she got up and threw open the sliding door, screaming out to the horizon (much to the confusion of the other people in the room), "DAMN YOU, KIYOSHI! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE WAY I DREEEESS?"

* * *

Kiyoshi appeared in the Hokage's office and let out a small shiver. _Something tells me that I should hope to avoid seeing Aeris-oba-chan for a while._ He quickly shook his head and made his face lose the frightened look. _Come on, focus. It's time to put the animals in their place._

The Hokage was sitting in his desk as he had claimed and was currently hunched over a crystal ball, a small smile starting to form on his face as he watched the "secret" meeting take place in the council chambers. Kiyoshi smirked as well as he got closer to the desk and asked while gazing into the ball as well, "Have I missed much?"

Sarutobi chuckled. "No. Actually, you are right on time. They just all got seated."

Kiyoshi's smirk grew a little as he watched the council begin their rant. _Idiots..._

* * *

The civilian council sat there in the room, shivering a little as it seemed like the room was colder than usual. They were all rather jumpy because the...events of last night had them on edge more than the Kyuubi attack and the Kumo incident combined, save for a select few that the other members would either wonder how they hid their emotions so well or if they were even affected.

The shinobi council, however, looked nearly the opposite. Aside from a few clan heads, they all looked as if they had slept rather well and had woken up with more energy than before. A few of the members were even sporting rather secretive, knowing smirks as they gazed at their civie counterparts. One woman with red upside-down triangle tattoos on her cheeks and a rather feral look that made her beauty rather exotic to behold went so far as to stretch lazily and say to her fellow shinobi in a voice that wasn't all that low, "I don't know about the _rest_ of you, but I can honestly say that I had never slept better than last night. It was just so..._peaceful_."

A few shinobi sniggered under their breath as the civilian council glared at her yet said nothing in response to the woman's jab. They knew that saying anything would be an admission of guilt - not that they were guilty of anything. Oh no. They had done their duties and made the village a better place. What did they care if a few extra actions they had taken were more morally dubious; they were entitled to them after all. Especially regarding their actions towards the demon brat. So what if the Kyuubi couldn't break the seal? It just meant that one day the boy would become Kyuubi anyway, so their early actions towards him were clearly justified. Besides, it was kind of fun getting away with a beating up such a helpless creature. Maybe they would organize more "fox hunts" in the future...

The civilians' collective thoughts were interrupted by Danzo as he shuffled in and sat at his place in the advisers' chairs. He then said in his slightly gravel-like tone, "Well now, is there anything to discuss before the Hokage gets here with whatever he has planned?"

It was clear what they all wished to talk about, but the shinobi clans didn't wish to budge since they mostly weren't affected by what happened last night, and the civilians still couldn't deal with their nightmares. Finally, a stern-looking man with black eyes and black hair wearing a jounin's vest with a red fan on the back – a man named Fugaku Uchiha – stood from his seat and said, "Honorable council, we all know why we are meeting like this. It is regarding that..._voice_ last night and the tortures we had suffered because of whoever that was."

The woman with the tattoos – Tsume Inuzuka – smirked again before turning to Fugaku and asking in a sickly sweet voice, "But Fugaku-san, whatever could you mean? Surely judging by what I'd said earlier, you can tell that neither I nor my clan suffered any kind of torture last night. And as for the voice? Sure, it was a little unnerving to hear a whisper that everyone in the village could listen to, but are we even sure that the person is real?"

A civilian council member, who owned several successful restaurants in Konoha, shot to his feet, his rolls of fat on his stomach shaking rapidly from the sudden movement, as he screamed out, "Don't play games with us, Inuzuka! Whoever that voice is, they are clearly a threat to Konoha. What kind of man casts a genjutsu over an entire village, including women and children, that forces them to relive their nightmares?"

* * *

Back in Sarutobi's room, Kiyoshi was sniggering in a vain attempt to prevent himself from laughing out loud.

* * *

"The very fact that you admit that you suffered from none of the torture makes you an automatic suspect!"

Tsume scowled at the man's accusation, but was saved from making some snide remark when Hiashi interrupted with a snort. "A genjutsu? Really? That's your excuse? Aside from the fact that there are several clans that can break through genjutsu using their bloodlines as well as a good number of individuals that contain enough power alone to not be affected, there is no genjutsu in existence that could affect so wide an area. The requirements to cast and maintain such an illusion for hours would require no less than a platoon of hardened jounin with chakra levels that would rival Kisame Hoshigaki's. Maybe if you would actually _read_ the reports that are given to you at the beginning of the meeting, you would find out that our best genjutsu experts have maintained the view that whatever happened last night was_ not_ a genjutsu of any kind!"

A reedy man slammed his hands onto the table, his eyes wide with fright as he then practically screamed out, "Well then, what the hell was it? We are all clearly in danger here, if you hadn't noticed. How are we supposed to know that this person can't do it again and just pick off everyone one after the other?"

* * *

Kiyoshi looked at the clock and noticed that it was ten minutes until the appointed time, and a very malicious smile appeared on his face. Nodding to Sarutobi to start getting ready, he activated his _Shinpan no Me_ and began to whisper.

* * *

The man was suddenly cut off when the same voice started to filter through the air. _**"What's wrong, Teme? Surely you must realize that facing your fears can either make you or break you?"**_

The man, along with several others, began to pale rather quickly, and he shouted around the room. "YOU! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?"

A chuckle, and then, _**"Hmm? Awwww, did poor baby get scared? Then again, I don't think that those fears you have are really something that you can grow stronger from. Tell me, how did it FEEL? How did you feel as you watched your wife be raped as she was stabbed with a poisoned knife repeatedly, and then left there to watch in searing pain as the assaulter turned his attentions to your eight year-old daughter? How did it make you feel as you listened to the fruit of your loins lay there as she begged and screamed for the evil man to stop?"**_

By now, the council was staring at the man in shock while he just sat there frozen, unable to move the slightest inch, possibly even unable to move his chest enough to breathe. An image flashed underneath him, and he was forced to watch the gruesome scene under his feet, though no one else seemed to see it.

The voice then laughed. _**"But you see, the ironic thing is that this isn't really your fear. I have seen into your soul, sinner, and I have seen nothing but filth and violence down to your very core. You see, your deepest fear isn't that this might happen to your family, but rather, what might happen to the MAN responsible for doing it. At first, that confused me. Why bother caring what happens to a rapist? But I began to think that it is quite possible that this scene was actually soon going to happen in reality, and I realized that the rapist in your nightmare..."**_

The image flashed to the attacker, whose head cut off from view but was slowly moving up his body and finally stopped there...

Revealing the face of same council member who was currently standing in the middle of the room.

_**"...is you."**_

The man began clawing at his face and screaming as loud as he could, his words ranging from "LIES! ALL LIES! THIS ISN'T TRUE!" to obscenities that would make the most battle-hardened rogue-nin blush with indignation.

During the man's breakdown, no one noticed a large hand made out of darkness slowly move out from the floor and up the man's body until it was too late to react. The hand opened and pulled the near-lunatic councilman into its grasp. It squeezed the man, causing him to shriek in pain as he felt his ribs begin to snap, and he thrashed around in the hand's grasp, his vocabulary now reduced to alternately cursing the voice and begging for his life.

Finally, the voice then spoke again. _**"I now pronounce judgment upon you and sentence you **__**to death. May Shinigami-sama and Chaos-sama rip your soul to shreds..."**_

The darkness squeezed tighter and tighter, forcing the blood from the man's body to move upwards because of the pressure, until suddenly the man's head shot off and away from his body with an almost comical _POP_. The man's now lifeless body was then dragged down into the darkness with the hand, before the darkness finally evaporated into thin air.

The council just sat there in shocked silence, until the door in the back of the room opened and revealed Sarutobi in his full Hokage regalia, followed by a blonde-haired boy in a white hoodie. The boy looked at the counsel and raised his eyebrow at the Hokage as the old man sat down. "A rather quiet bunch, aren't they?"

All heads in the room just slowly turned to look at the boy and stared at him, until a man with long blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail and gray-blue eyes asked, "And who might you be, young man?"

The boy just smiled cryptically and hopped up onto the Hokage's desk, sitting down and leaning back comfortably onto the side of the Hokage's chair as he answered, "Well, Inoichi Yamanaka-san, my name is-"

"BA-_DING_! Come now! Are we really just going to do this in such a _boring_ way? I want to have some FUN!"

Everyone quickly snapped their heads to the other side of the room to see another boy standing there, who looked eerily similar to the one on the Hokage's desk. However, this newcomer looked like a harlequin, with his entire face painted white aside from some purple paint that was around his lips. His blonde hair was pulled together into a short high ponytail, and his clothes were made out of a mismatch variety of cloths that were all bright and vibrant while being a variety of patterns. There was a rather crazed look in his eyes, and his mouth was contorted into a maniacal smile.

The clown laughed shrilly and pranced other to the Hokage's desk. Standing ramrod straight and putting his hand around his mouth like he was blowing into something, he made a trumpet-like sound and said, "TA-DAA! I give you all the appointed representative of the Jade Emperor, the heir of his clan, the man who can take on any nin and live," The clown then gyrated his hips in a perverted manner as he continued, "the _all-night_ lover that makes the women scream in pleasure – KIYOSHI TENSHIIIII!" Several pops of party crackers went off, showering the area lightly with confetti and streamers as a banner dropped from the ceiling that read, "KIYOSHI TENSHI – SEXY AND SINGLE!"

The room was so silent that crickets were now chirping, before the Hokage chuckled a little and asked, "And what, may I ask, are you doing, Kiyoshi-san?"

Kiyoshi snapped his fingers, causing the banners and confetti to vanish as he pulled out a small notebook and a pencil. He wrote in it a little as he answered, "Experimenting to see what happens when you shove certain aspects of your personality into a _Kage Bunshin_. I have to say, it's turning out to be more than I expected."

The clown laughed shrilly again as he jumped back down to the middle of the room. He began to act erratically by jumping around the area, waving his arms frantically, all the while laughing like some sweet innocent child.

Or at least a sweet _demonic_ child.

Smirking a little as he knew what Kiyoshi was also doing, he ignored the clone and addressed the council. "I'm sure you all want know why I have called you here this morning."

Snapping out of their shock for the moment, the council gathered themselves back together, and one member stood from his seat. "I would assume that it's about the mysterious voice and the havoc that he's causing around-"

Suddenly, the clown screamed out, "WRONG!", and ran over to the man, reaching into some sort of unseen pocket on his clothes. It promptly pulled out a dead fish and smacked the council member with enough force to send him flying into the wall. As the man's body hung out the hole that was created, the clone then held the fish by its tail with two fingers before pinching its nose and screaming out, "BEWARE THE DEAD FISH OF FALSEHOOD!" It threw the fish into the air, which then promptly disappeared, and resumed its manic glee-filled actions from before.

Again, the council was shocked into silence, though Sarutobi just chuckled and replied, "No, that is false. The voice is nothing worth any notice at this moment-"

Another civilian stood and shouted out, "What do you mean, Hokage-sama? That man just killed one of our most esteemed members of the council in cold blood! And furthermore-"

Kiyoshi interrupted the woman's rant. "And what did the voice say that the 'esteemed member' was guilty of? If he was so innocent of the crimes he was accused of, then wouldn't he have been more calm? If the voice was so evil as you want to make him, then why are all of you more like the council member who died – shaking where you sit out of fear as your body's tiredness continues to cloud your mind? Only a truly guilty man would try to get out of being judged."

The woman snarled at him. "Shut up, brat! Who are you to butt in on the esteemed council's affairs? You claim to be some emperor's representative, but I'm not buying that shit! If your so-called esteemed emperor was interested in maintaining his supposed rule over us, then why isn't he here himself? You're just an outsider, and your emperor is just some fool who thinks-"

Kiyoshi's eyes flashed dangerously at her remark, and he raised his hand to send out a ball of what look like misty frost out of it. It hit the woman square in the chest, and ice rapidly formed around her, freezing her entire body inside a large ice crystal. The woman stood there, her posture and face both reflecting shock as she tried to defend herself from the mysterious attack.

Kiyoshi jumped from where he was sitting and softly glided down to in front of the crystal, a cold expression on his young face. He twisted his wrist, and a flash of light revealed a mace made out of a bluish metal. He then turned to the rest of the room and yelled in a furious tone, "One strike – that's all I need to end her life! Does anyone else wish to piss me off?" Kiyoshi raised the mace in a threatening manner towards the ice crystal, and the other council members – even the shinobi ones – were shaking their heads in fear and making soothing gestures, trying to get the boy to calm down.

Seeing their expressions with a small amount of satisfaction, Kiyoshi flashed the mace away and snapped his fingers. Fire began to surround the ice, causing it melt at a quick pace before disappearing, releasing the poor shivering woman from her confines.

Kiyoshi reached down and grabbed a handful of the woman's hair, causing her to cry out as he forced her to look into his cold eyes. He then said, "Listen well, you bitch, because I will only say this once. Insult the Emperor in any way, and I'll make sure that your family gets your remains in the gruesome way I can think of. Are we clear?"

The woman nodded her head as best she could, and Kiyoshi released his grasp before walking back up to the Hokage's desk and sitting down again.

The Hokage smirked before continuing to speak. "As both I and the Fire Daimyo can personally attest to the existence of the Emperor, let's move on before this council's ignorance in matters that don't directly concern them gets everyone in the room killed. Agreed?"

Everyone nodded their heads, and Sarutobi pressed on. "As I was saying, the reason that I have called the council here today was to tell you that I have now enacted a new law that will be assimilated into the village charter. The Daimyo has already approved of the signing, as well as all other proper authorities, so this law cannot be repealed or blocked in any way. Failure to comply with this law will result in immediate jail time and possible execution, and these punishments are non-disputable in any court of law in the Fire Nation."

As Sarutobi began to tell of the details of the law, the council's eyes began to widen as Kiyoshi's smirk began to grow.

* * *

Naruto had decided to hang around the stand today instead of walking around. Despite how he may act like one, Naruto wasn't an idiot. He knew that since the council was meeting today, the more irate villagers would try to find him and try to blame something on him in order to enact some sort of horrific punishment, like throwing stones at him or beating him to a near pulp. It didn't really happen often, as not everyone participated in these events, but it still was a good idea to not tempt fate and put himself in a dangerous position. Besides, he still didn't know what happened the night before last, but it seemed like that police force at the very least was determined to pin it on him.

Currently, Naruto was in the back of the shop, moving some of the smaller boxes around and putting them away as Ayame and Teuchi tended to the front. That way, if some of the "demon-haters" decided to look around, they would never look farther than the front and be on their way, thinking that he would just sit there and eat ramen rather than help out.

As he shifted a more stubborn box into place, he heard Teuchi say up front, "Welcome to our sta- Oh! Tenten-chan! Lee-kun! What brings the two of you here?"

His head perked up a little at the names as Tenten timidly said to the older man, "Um, g-good morning, Teuchi-san. We were wondering if Naruto was still around."

"Sure, Tenten-chan. He's right in the back."

"Thank you." He heard the two move back to where he was, and Tenten called out, "Naruto?"

"Come on back, Tenten. I'm just moving some boxes at the moment."

The two children walked through the doorway to see Naruto slowly shifting the box he was holding into its spot, and they moved over to help him get it into place. After doing so, Naruto turned to the two of them and smiled. "So, what's up?"

The two children glanced at each other before Tenten said, "We just wanted to see if you were still okay. After last night..."

Lee suddenly began looking around as he asked in a low voice, "I-Is he here?"

Naruto thought for a second before realizing that Lee was talking about Kiyoshi and shook his head, confused about his new friend's behavior. "No. Kiyoshi-san had to go attend a council meeting with Sarutobi-ojii-san. Why? What's wrong?"

Tenten widened her eyes a little before quickly laying her hands on Naruto's shoulders. "What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG? Naruto, we just saw two jounin be killed right in front of us without mercy! Last night, a voice without a body forced a lot of people to live their worst nightmares for an entire night without reprieve, and I know that Kiyoshi-san was behind it! Aren't you in the least bit scared of what might happen to us?"

Naruto calmly looked into the terrified girls eyes and honestly yet firmly said, "No. I'm not scared."

Shocked, the girl let Naruto go, and he motioned towards the front as he continued, "Why don't you guys follow me to the front? The store's still closed, so no one will bother us, and maybe I can explain to you both why I'm not afraid." As the two followed him to the front, he began his long tale of his life after the orphanage and how Kiyoshi had helped him two days ago.

* * *

When Sarutobi was done reading the new charter law, he was wearing a very large smile on his face as he looked at the civilian council. Most had ashen faces, as they realized that they could no longer exploit Naruto in any way, and the boy was so honest that the Hokage would believe him no matter what if he said that he was being harassed by the villagers. _Finally, you can't hurt him anymore. Make one wrong move now, and your heads are on the block._

Kiyoshi was also smiling, though for a somewhat different reason. _What are you going to do, Danzo? This law will force you to find other ways to get Naruto under your thumb – ways that could cost you your life – and put you right in the open. Are you really willing to risk it just for your delusions?_

After a few minutes of silence, one civilian stood up and said, "I propose to the council that we send an emissary to the Daimyo-"

"Too late," Kiyoshi interrupted, "the Daimyo's hands are tied. Law's been pushed through and is now irrevocable even by him. Too bad, so sorry, have a nice day."

The man stared at him with a furious glare as he growled out, "Oh? Why do you say that, you little brat? No law within the village is irrevocable by the council-"

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong," Kiyoshi interrupted again. "If you look under the village charter, law number 3, section D, you'll find that the village council is only in place to serve in an advisory capacity. Under no circumstances may the council act in a military, judicial, or legislative jurisdiction; their only purpose is to _advise_ the Hokage on a certain course of action through discussion and argumentation. All matters regarding laws of the village and military matters are under the jurisdiction of solely the Hokage, and any attempts to usurp this power is considered an act of treason." The boy then allowed a malicious smile to spread across his face. "And we all know that the punishment for treason within a ninja village is execution, don't we?"

The civilian roared and lunged over his seat, his arms stretched out with the intention of strangling the boy. Kiyoshi simply snapped his fingers, and a bolt of lightning struck down and hit the man's back. The councilman hit the ground and laid there, twitching in extreme pain as every nerve in his body was shot to hell. Kiyoshi then swung his legs forward and jumped to the ground in front of the man. He leaned down and narrowed his eyes, his smile never leaving. "What did I say about pissing me off?"

The man's eyes widened as a stain appeared on the crotch of his pants. The clown, who had been forgotten for the moment, appeared at Kiyoshi's side, his own twisted smile and wide eyes present on his painted face as he waited in baited glee. Kiyoshi stood straight and walked back towards the Hokage's desk, his arm sweeping towards the man as he said to the clone, "Get rid of this trash."

The clown let out a twisted laugh and grabbed the man's legs before dragging him out the doors. The man screamed out, "WAIT! PLEASE!", only for it to fall on deaf ears when the clone laughed again as the doors shut closed. Kiyoshi hopped back up onto the Hokage's desk and made a knife flash into his hands before using it to start cleaning his nails.

The room sat there in tense silence, wondering what was going to happen to the poor council member. Suddenly, they heard screaming, and they watched as the man fell past the window, screaming all the way until they heard a loud _THUD_. Silence fell over again until the clown walked back into the room and saluted in a goofy manner at his creator. Kiyoshi simply nodded, his gaze never leaving his nails, and the clown began running around in an insane manner once more.

Kiyoshi then cleared his throat. "I don't expect you to understand what my purpose is, the same way that an insect cannot understand a human, but I'll tell you this. As it stands right now, I am the closest thing to Kami-dono that you will ever see in this lifetime, so if you wish to live through my visit, I suggest you start coming clean about your actions and stop trying to circumvent what's going to happen. That way, you will get to live your miserable lives just a little longer without having to fear of winding up in the Shinigami's stomach."

This caused the civilian council to stand up and start screaming at him in a frenzy, calling for the boy to be executed for his insolence, while the shinobi council just sat there and pondered his words, curious about how the boy was this confident he would escape any form of punishment. This continued for a couple minutes until Kiyoshi started laughing. His sudden hilarity caused the civilians to calm down and stare at the child as if he had lost his mind.

He kept laughing for a few seconds, until he finally said, "You really don't get it, do you? You honestly think that you little maggots have power in this rotten world and that your opinion matters? Get with the program, people. This world is far larger than you imagined here on this pathetic little continent, and about seventy-five percent of it belongs to the Emperor, including this little speck of dust. The only reason there aren't more Imperial forces running around here is because the Emperor could care less about your little feuds. You all sit here and destroy yourselves over insignificant pieces of land because none of you bother to leave them and realize that there are enemies far more worse than your supposed rivals."

The council sat there, shocked at his words, and Kiyoshi just closed his eyes and rubbed them a little. When he opened them again, however, the _Shinpan no Me_ was now flaring in his eyes. _**"You evidently didn't listen to my message last night."**_

One of the civilian women sitting behind the civilian council paled and stuttered out, "T-That was you? A small boy caused that-"

A hand of darkness shot up out of the ground and clamped itself over the woman's mouth, as Kiyoshi said, _**"Quiet. You're interrupting."**_ The woman's eyes widened but refrained from uttering another sound in fear that the hand would crush her skull.

Kiyoshi just smirked and continued. _**"I actually had hoped to not show this much of my hand just yet, but I feel it is now time to put you through another punishment, and again this boils right down to within yourself. Within this village, I have laid enough slow-timed explosive tags within various shops, homes, and compounds to level them to dust. The rules of this are simple: I have calculated the time it would take for all of you to get to one – and only one – location. The moment I start my timer, you can choose to get to the location of your choice and save what you wish, or you can simply sit here and do nothing. What truly matters is how you feel regarding the issue of Naruto Uzumaki."**_

He held up one finger. _**"The first option: If you think that you have done no wrong to him – a boy that is so innocent, my soul weeps for him and the abuse he has had to suffer through – and you are correct in your assumptions, then you can simply sit here and wait for time to run out. Nothing will happen to you, your families, or your properties, on my honor so as I swear to the Shinigami. However, if you are wrong, then you lose everything that you have held dear, and your souls belong to me."**_

A second finger raised. _**"The second option: You can run from here and get to whichever place you so decide and try to rescue what you can. Choose wrongly with your emotions, and all tags tuned to you get set off, killing you and everyone else around them. On the other hand, make the right choice, and the tags will simply fizzle out, saving yourself as well as others."**_

Finally, a third finger raised. _**"The last option: You can sit right here and confess to the Hokage all the crimes you have committed regarding both Naruto Uzumaki as well as any other illegal dealings you may have performed. Doing so may forfeit your life, yet you will save everything. In fact, it could be the thing that saves you as well. After all, which is better: jail time, with a possibility of getting out early with good behavior? Or death, where you can rot in the Underworld with the others you dragged with you?"**_

The three fingers lowered as the hand they were on swept into the air, causing the numbers "20:00" to appear. They then formed into a snapping position. _**"In one minute, the timer shall start. Best make up your mind soon, as you're about ready to find out just how precious time can be."**_

Various people began looking nervously around the room, wondering what they should do. The boy was obviously angry and quite possibly insane, yet how did they know that he wasn't bluffing? Was it really worth risking everything they had worked for and bled for, just to have it go up in smoke both figuratively and literally? Was it worth risking the lives of their families and neighbors?

One civilian – a man named Daiki Taruro, who owned a few clothing stores (who Kiyoshi remembered was the one he had stolen his current clothes from) – sneered at Kiyoshi. "I don't know what the hell is your deal, boy, but you are obviously a lunatic who needs to be exterminated. Why the Hokage has chosen to listen to your lies is beyond me, and I for one am not going to play your little game."

Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow. _**"Is that your final answer? You won't be able to take it back if it is."**_

Daiki slammed his fist onto the table. "You're damn right, it is!"

Kiyoshi simply shrugged and raised his other hand, his fingers ready. _**"Your choice."**_ The fingers snapped, and in the distance, a few large explosions sounded across the village, rattling the room a little from the sheer power.

Daiki paled a little as he recognized the blasts coming from the direction of his home and businesses, before the hand of darkness from earlier released the woman it was holding and shot towards the man. It plunged into his chest before retracting quickly, pulling out the man's heart and crushing it into a bloody mess. Daiki didn't even have any time to scream, and his body just fell forward, dead as the blood poured out of the hole in its chest.

Before anyone could do anything, Kiyoshi then said, _**"Ladies and gentlemen, the game shall start in five...four...three...two...one...BEGIN!"**_ His fingers snapped, and the numbers began counting down.

There was a small pause, before several members of the civilian council, and a few from the shinobi side, raced out the door.

Kiyoshi turned to the rest still sitting and tilted his head. _**"Not going? Remember that should you choose wrong, there will be consequences."**_

Tsume stared at him. "My clan may not be perfect, but I believe in them. Not once have I ever heard any of them show any hatred for Naruto, and they wouldn't bother hiding their feelings if they disliked someone or something. In fact, many times they have raged about how unfair things are for the pup and have done their best to at least ensure that he would have a hot meal and a place to stay should he require it. So go ahead. Play your game. Since you have sworn your honor to the God of Death himself, I know you'll uphold your end of the bargain."

Kiyoshi raised his eyebrow again. _**"Are you certain? How do you know that I simply won't betray you all and set them off when the timer runs out?"**_

Tsume just smirked at him. "Because if you really wanted us dead, we wouldn't be sitting here conversing."

* * *

In the Inuzuka compound, several tags that were hidden in various places suddenly caught fire and turned to ash. No one even noticed this odd occurrence, not even little Kiba Inuzuka, who was practically right on top of one.

* * *

Kiyoshi turned his gaze to some of the others. _**"And the rest of you? Do you really have such faith in your clans that you won't try to save them from their possible fates? You could wind up being the sole survivor should you choose wrong."**_

Hiashi turned his head to the boy, his posture straight and assured. "Evidently, you do not know the clans of Konoha as well as you think. For the most part, we of the clans have always tried to ensure that the boy's life would be a little easier since we could not make things right before today."

Kiyoshi simply replied, _**"Oh? And what has the Hyuuga clan done for the boy?"**_

Hiashi smiled a little. "The branch family of my clan has always tried to ensure that Naruto avoided those who would intend him harm, or misdirect the mobs to prevent them from finding him. We also would drop off some food for him while he was away from his apartment, so that the civilians wouldn't find out and try to stop us with some trumped-up law. I would hide their activities from the Hyuuga clan council, so they would never try to punish those branch members."

* * *

Ayaka sat on a cushion on the wooden floor outside, watching as her daughter Hinata went through the katas for the Jyuuken style. She smiled at her young daughter as she ran a hand over her swollen belly, showing that she was around seven months pregnant. She would often call out to correct Hinata every so often, but otherwise stayed silent and smiled at her daughter's tenacity to do better.

Ayaka then felt a small pulse of chakra, and quickly activated her _Byakugan_. She then noticed a small tag that she hadn't seen before suddenly burst into flames and leave no trace of it behind save for ash. She frowned a little before masking it, finding it rather odd that no one had noticed it before but decided to keep quiet, since it appeared nothing bad had happened anyway. She then turned back to Hinata, and smiled once more.

* * *

Shikaku Nara then said, "It's so troublesome to have to explain this, but the Nara clan would often give some of our best medicines to the ANBU to deliver to the boy whenever he got hurt or sick and his 'tenant' seemed to be unable to help him."

* * *

Shikamaru Nara was tending to the deer since he was bored. He just sat there and watched them graze for while, making sure they didn't run off despite the fact that they hardly did anything (which really he didn't mind, since it was less work for him). He looked around the area for a little bit, until he noticed a small seal tag suddenly appear and catch fire before turning to ash. He stared at the spot for a minute before ignoring it, muttering under his breath, "Troublesome..."

* * *

Chouza Akamichi spoke next. "The Akamichi clan has a few restaurants that we run, and we would offer Naruto some free food whenever he came by, as well as applying discounts onto his bills for the rest of what he ate."

* * *

Chouji Akamichi stood beside his mother Maika and helped her to get lunch ready. Despite many people's misconceptions about the Akamichi's weight, that really only applied to the men, as could be proven by Maika. Maika was a true Akamichi woman - some eighth cousin, seven times removed or some such to her husband; enough to still be considered an Akamichi yet far enough removed from Chouza's bloodline that inbreeding was downright impossible - as she had an hourglass figure that many women would die for, filling out in all the right places while staying slim in others. This was especially true for her bust, which could give Tsunade Senju a run for her money in size. Some Akamichi's had even joked that Tsunade had to have some of their clan's blood in her, since women outside the clan rarely could reach that size without implants.

Maika hummed a little as she watched her son with pride, her auburn hair swaying a little in its ponytail. He followed her instructions perfectly and knew how to tell what spices to use by taste alone. She really hoped that Chouza would be home in time to try their son's cooking. He would certainly be surprised.

The two never noticed the seal in the corner of the room suddenly burst into flames and turn to ashes.

* * *

Inoichi Yamanaka continued. "The Yamanaka clan would often let the boy help out in our greenhouses for some extra spending money. We would also make sure to give him a few of our nicer hand-me-downs from the older children, so that the civilians wouldn't try to claim he had stolen new clothes."

* * *

Ino Yamanaka watched as her mother Izumi deftly arranged the flower bouquet to be sent out today, Izumi pointing out various things about it for Ino to memorize. "Remember, dear. Make sure to arrange the flowers in such a way that the colors do not clash with each other. It's very important that-"

Both females noticed a small tag suddenly appear in thin air and turn to ash in from of them, startling them. They stared at the small pile for a second before Ino then asked, "Kaa-san, has Tou-san been doing something in here?"

Izumi shook her head a little. "Not to my knowledge, dear, but maybe he did and it just stopped working. I'll let him know when he gets back."

Ino nodded her head and returned her attention back to the bouquet as her mother continued.

* * *

Shibi Aburame then ended with, "The Aburame clan has given the Uzumaki child books to help him learn the ninja lifestyle as well as scrolls containing the three jutsu needed to pass the exam. Several of our members would keep an eye on him while he was training whenever we went out towards the training grounds to look for extra insect specimens."

* * *

It was Shino Aburame's first time helping tend to the kikaichu beetle colonies that waited to be put into his clansmen. By next year, he himself would be able to establish the symbiotic connection needed to fight with his own colony and begin training with his clan jutsu.

Tending to the colonies wasn't really hard. For the most part, they just stayed around their respective areas, and all Shino had to do was lay out some food for them to eat. He had gotten around to one of the last few colonies, when a small swarm of beetles flew out of him and began acting erratically.

Curious about his colony's odd behavior yet unable to really understand what they were saying yet, he followed the swarm to a wall on the far side of the hive area. He examined it to see what was causing the insects their distress and ran a hand along the wall. Suddenly, the wall felt like it had become paper, and Shino examined it more closely to see a _henge_ covering the area. Raising his hands in a half Ram seal and whispered, "_Kai!_"

The _henge_ melted away, revealing a paper seal tag that had the kanji for "Greater Explosion" written on it. Shino's eyes widened, and he began to wonder just how to get this tag off before it activated.

Suddenly, the tag burst into flame, and for a split second, Shino thought it was going to go off. But the moment passed when the flames vanished, and all that remained was simply grey ash on the floor.

Shino stared at the small pile for a few minutes, wondering who had put that seal there but was unable to come up with an answer. Resolving to bring this up with his father, he stood up from the ground and walked back over to the last of the colonies to finish his work.

* * *

After listening to the clan heads, Kiyoshi was silent for a moment as he focused his gaze onto the others who still remained. Fugaku Uchiha sat there in a stoic manner, his eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest, the scowl never changing from his face. Kiyoshi grinned maliciously and quietly jumped down from the table. He sneaked over to the clan head and sat himself right in front of the Uchiha without a sound.

Fugaku felt a presence in front of him and opened his eyes slowly to see a pair of eyes with a white symbol and a black symbol staring back at him. Startled, he let out a yell as his chair jumped back, depositing the man onto the floor, much to the boy's amusement. Fugaku growled a little and stood up, brushing himself as he said, "Was it really necessary to do that?"

Kiyoshi shrugged. _**"Maybe not, but it was funny as hell."**_

Fugaku, gritting his teeth in suppressed rage, took a swipe at the boy in front of him, only for Kiyoshi to grab his hand and slam the back of it against the desk, splintering the top a little and driving small bits of wood into the flesh. Fugaku barely held in the whimper of pain, though his eyes watered a little, and he looked up in time to see Kiyoshi leaning down and resting his elbow onto his knee while his head rested on his hand, the other one still gripping Fugaku's. "_**And what of you, Fugaku-san? Do you have faith in your clan to have done the right thing?**_"

Fugaku just glared at the boy before answering, "I do not speak for every individual in my clan. They are free to do as they see fit, so long as it does not sully the name Uchiha. As a whole, my clan never felt anything either way for the Uzumaki brat, though if we had known that his existence would have caused this much trouble, I would have pushed for his death a lot harder. At least then, a pox within the village would have been taken care of."

Kiyoshi's eyes flashed in suppressed rage at the man's arrogance, but his face formed into a cruel smile. Remaining silent, he jammed a kunai that flashed into his hand down into the back of Fugaku's, pinning the appendage to the desk. Fugaku screamed in pain, and Kiyoshi simply grabbed the other hand before doing the same to it as well, resulting in another scream. As the man sat there in his chair, unable to move, Kiyoshi simply slid down from the desk and walked towards the Hokage, saying, _**"Do stay around, Fugaku-san. Let me see just how much of the faith you put into your clan pays off. Oh, and don't worry. I intentionally missed all the major blood vessels in your hand, so you don't have to worry about bleeding to death."**_ The smile was almost animalistic now. _**"Although, I imagine the pain must excruciating."**_

Fugaku, furious that this brat would dare to injure him, an _UCHIHA_ and one of the elite, roared at the boy while staring him with his fully matured _Sharingan_, "RELEASE ME, YOU INSIGNIFICANT WHELP!"

Kiyoshi simply waved in an off-handed manner and said to the ANBU who approached the man to help, _**"Leave him. Consider it a lesson for him to not speak so arrogantly to his betters."**_

The ANBU nodded and vanished, while Fugaku roared again, "DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO I AM? I AM AN UCHIHA! I AM THE LEADER OF ONE OF THIS VILLAGE'S FOUNDING CLANS-"

Kiyoshi just jumped up onto the Hokage's desk again and interrupted, _**"You are the leader of a clan of arrogant thieves who think that their substandard bloodline somehow makes them into gods. Answer this then, Fugaku-san. If your clan is so great, how is it that none of them have become Hokage? Why so few of them are in the major bingo books? Why so few of your people have the **__**Sharingan**__** in comparison to the number within your clan? You sit there and think that just because you can copy a technique, it makes you an automatic master of it. So why is it, then, that when an Uchiha uses a freshly-copied technique in comparison to a person who has trained in it for a long while, the trained user is the better? You could sit here and copy every single one of my techniques, and I will always win. You wish to know why? Because all the blood, sweat, and tears I put into them has helped me reach a greater understanding of how to use them perfectly. Quite a few of you Uchiha have grown stagnant and lazy, thinking that your bloodline is an automatic pass to victory, when really all that it does is sign your own death warrant."**_

Fugaku's eyes bulged a little at this information, and his face began to turn an interesting shade of purple as the rage inside of him began to build to epic proportions. Before Mt. Fugaku could have the chance to erupt, Kiyoshi pointed at him and simply said, _**"Silence."**_ As his throat glowed for a brief second, Fugaku's face contorted with rage and opened to his mouth to unleash his screaming, only for no sound to pass his lips.

This action caused no small amount of shock in the room, and even the Hokage turned to look at the boy in question and ask in a hesitant manner, "Kiyoshi-san, may I inquire as to what kind of jutsu that was?" A grin then formed on the old man's face as he gazed at the rest of the council members. "I find it to be rather effective." The remaining council collectively gulped.

Kiyoshi chuckled as the knife flashed back into his hands, and he continued his nail-cleaning. _**"Tell me, how many of you are familiar with the existence of magic?"**_ He glanced at the timer.

13 minutes, 27 seconds left...

* * *

Satoshi Iori was never a greedy man. Sure, he turned a blind eye to a couple of things if there was some benefit for him without getting caught, but never something that was outright illegal or hurtful. Personally, he didn't care either way about the Uzumaki kid. The boy left him alone for the most part, as he never really ventured into the area where Satoshi's grocery store was located, but the few times that he did go in, Satoshi never overcharged the kid or anything like what the other merchants sometimes bragged about. Honestly, what was the purpose of building a reputation as a respectable business man if he price-gouged even one person? Didn't these other people know that foreigners did in fact visit Konoha on a daily basis and constantly judged their actions? In fact, if he had committed any sin against Naruto Uzumaki, it was simply that Satoshi had never lifted a hand to help him. It would have been bad for business to show any sort of favoritism towards the boy.

Satoshi may not have been in the best of shape – his time at the ninja academy had ended after his first time failing to get onto a genin team – but he did believe in exercising every now and again. That very routine was actually now the thing help keep him at a steady fast pace towards his store and his home right above it. Despite a few relationships in the past, Satoshi had never married or had any children, that he was aware of at least, and lived alone in his home. Hopefully, he could get there before any of his possessions were blown to bits and save what was the most valuable at least. He quickly wondered how much time he had left, and a small square of foggy bluish light appeared to the side of his line of vision.

_12:36_...

He finally reached his store and rushed in. He headed for the stairs, but soon paused and looked around the store. There were people all over the place – mothers with their young children, couples, even whole families. _I need to get my valuables, but still, these people don't deserve to die. I feel that kid's eyes on me for some reason, and I don't think that timer really matters any more. My next action could either save me or kill me._

He thought about it for only a second before yelling out, "EVERYBODY, PLEASE EVACUATE THE BUILDING! WORD HAS GOTTEN OUT THAT A THREAT MAY BE LOOSE IN THE VILLAGE, AND THE STORE MUST BE CHECKED FOR ANY POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS OBJECTS! _MOVE_!"

Startled and frightened, all the customers began rushing out of the door, though thankfully without causing any major injuries, and Satoshi began rushing towards the back, looking quickly for any stragglers. Fairly certain they were all gone, he began to head back towards the stairs until he heard a small voice say, "K-Kaa-san? Where are you?"

Surprised, he turned quickly to see a small young girl with blonde pigtails looking around frantically and calling out for her parent. The timer flashed again in his sight, showing only...

...one...minute...left.

Satoshi ran over to the young girl and quickly picked her up, saying in what he hoped was a comforting voice, "Hey, come on. Let's go see if your okaa-san might be outside!" He began rushing towards the exit, the timer lowering the countdown to its last five seconds while blinking red. At the last second, he jumped from the door and rolled on the ground, trying to protect the girl with his body.

An explosion went off, and Satoshi heard screaming. After a couple seconds, however, he realized that the explosion was too far off in the distance for it to be his store. Slowly he got up from the ground and looked behind himself, allowing the little girl to get onto her feet. His store was still there. His timer had gone off, though; why was his store still standing?

He felt a poke on his shoulder and heard the child say, _**"Hey, mister."**_

He froze a little at the etheral voice before slowly turning to look into the same black-and-white eyes the Tenshi's had turned into. The little girl smiled a little and leaned in to whisper, _**"You chose **__**wisely."**_ She then raised her little fingers and snapped them.

Gasps were heard, and Satoshi snapped his head back to look at his store, becoming shocked at what he saw. Several tags surrounding the building had appeared before flashing straight to ash, leaving his store untouched and hopefully threat-free. Satoshi turned around again to find the girl, but he just heard some giggling, as the child had vanished into the crowd. As he thanked Kami for sparing him in his brush with the Shinigami, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you okay?"

Satoshi turned once more to see a raven-haired woman standing there, her blue eyes showing concern past her lightly freckled cheeks. She was not really outright gorgeous, but she was still somewhat pretty and seemed to have some nice features hiding behind those eyes.

Deciding that the kid wouldn't be so cruel as to trick him again, he grinned a little at the woman and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Crazy day, though."

Despite the panic and concern that was rising amongst the crowd, the woman giggled slightly. "I guess that's one way to put it." She hesitated for a second, before reaching out a hand to him. "My name is Seika."

Satoshi's grin went a little wider as he returned that handshake, replying, "Satoshi. Satoshi Iori. Seika-san, if I may be so bold, may I take you out to dinner? I suddenly feel a new lease on life, and would love to celebrate it with a beautiful woman such as you."

* * *

Hiashi looked at the boy with confusion. "Magic? What are you talking about? Magic doesn't exist in this world, only chakra. If it did, then we would have heard of it and possibly found a way to use it."

Kiyoshi nodded his head slightly. _**"You're right, Hiashi-san. If the rest of the world had realized that magic still existed, then everyone would be trying to find a way to utilize this new power source. Despite what else you say, though, I can assure you that magic is very much real, and the proof was displayed before you today. That spell I just used on Fugaku-san,"**_ he indicated towards the pinned man, _**"is one that blocks all magic and chakra use, silencing even the target's own voice. Had Fugaku-san kept a clear head like the shinobi he should be, he could have actually used Kawarimi and escaped from the position he's currently in before I had bound him. But now, he is powerless until either I use another spell or a specialized item to cure him of it, or he goes to sleep and lets it run out of his system. However, I wouldn't bank on the last one, though, as my clan is the only one who knows to achieve the meditative state to overcome this condition through sleep. The other bit of proof comes from when I froze that woman earlier. Granted, there is a kekkei genkai out there that can utilize ice as naturally as breathing, but I do not possess this ability. There is also a place called Yuki no Kuni, where some of the shinobi are able to form ice techniques by combining the chakra elements Water and Air. However, I don't use this technique for a few reasons. First, it takes such a great degree of training to attain this that my time is better spent doing other things, meaning that these shinobi must dedicate years of their lives before even getting to the point where they can enough ice to make it deadly. Secondly, despite all the training the shinobi seem to put into it, these techniques are huge chakra wasters, draining a user of much of their chakra in prolonged battles, and chakra control exercises are not fast enough to balance this out unless the shinobi spends an equal amount of time on these in comparison to the techniques themselves. Finally, my own version of Ice techniques are far more efficient and powerful, leaving my chakra stores untouched and useable for techniques that are more beneficial."**_

10 minutes and 6 seconds left...

* * *

Jun Takeba was sprinting towards his store, as he wasn't foolish enough to keep any of his valuables at his house where his wife and son could find them. Kami only knows what would happen if the gossiping harpy or the brutish thug would ever find out about his secret stash. Probably waste it on junk he would never appreciate in any way, shape or form. To be honest, he didn't care if they burned for his mistakes, as he knew they would have done the same anyway.

Takeba was one of those shopkeepers who hated the demon brat. When Kyuubi had first rampaged through Konoha, it had destroyed two of Takeba's best shops and caused the man thousands to repair and replace everything. He made the money back, with interest, but he had always considered it an insult that they were destroyed in the first place. He never attended the shinobi academy and therefore did not understand the mechanics of the sealing arts, but he always believed that Kyuubi had simply taken over the form of Naruto Uzumaki and was masquerading as human until it could have its revenge. Whether or not there was a Naruto Uzumaki before this "possession", Takeba didn't care; he probably still would have overcharged the brat anyway.

Takeba reached his restaurant and stopped right outside the doorway, breathing heavily as sweat poured from his fatty skin. He was, after all, a connoisseur of food and enjoyed this hobby greatly, traveling to all parts of the Elemental Nations to sample all forms of rich cuisine. Besides, what was the point of eating if you had to do it in a healthy manner? That was why his restaurants were some of the best in Konoha, and his grocery stores only sold the richest, rarest, and, in his own opinion, best (as well as highly overpriced) foods in the Fire Country. It suited him well, and he would be damned if some snot-nosed foreign brat took it away from him. When this was all over, he would make that punk pay for his crimes against him.

Takeba, having finally caught his breath, stood straight and moved through the doorway. Akiko, one of the relatively new waitresses, looked up from the customer log book in front of her and smiled as she moved to greet her boss. "Good afternoon, Take-"

Normally, Takeba would have stood there for a moment to engage in some pointless conversation so that he could ogle her beautiful form openly. He made it a custom to bed some of his female employees, since Kami only knows he would rather not ever touch his wife again. He loved it even more when some of the girls had no choice but to do as he pleased or else they would lose their jobs and possibly be cast out into the streets and starve as a result. Since Akiko was new to the shop, he hadn't the pleasure of doing so to her yet, though he knew it would be soon. But today, Takeba had no time for his perverted ways, and he shoved past the beautiful woman hurriedly, sending her to the floor, and rushing towards his office.

Once inside, Takeba moved to the hidden safe to remove his most important documents and money vouchers, as well as several billfolds full of ryo. _With all of this, I'll leave Konoha for a little while, re-establish myself over in Fire Capital, or maybe I'll just travel for a little bit. Yeah, that'll work. Go travel the world again before coming back when this all blows over. The brat can't stay here forever, and he's not going to waste time looking for one merchant._

Chuckling to himself, Takeba pulled out everything and dumped it all into a medium-sized satchel before placing it onto his desk and closing the safe with both of his hands. The brat wouldn't have any idea of what was just taken, and without it, the old man Hokage wouldn't have any proof of his misdoings. He spun the lock with a quick flick of his wrist and reached over to grab the bag, only for his hand to grasp empty air. A soft giggle was heard, and Takeba whirled around to see Akiko holding onto the bag and peering into it. What was even more strange was that his wife and son were laying on the ground at her feet, bound and gagged as they stared up at Takeba with confused and fearful eyes.

Akiko looked up from her inspections to stare at Takeba with an amused expression. "Going somewhere, Bosu? Would this have anything to do with those explosions I heard earlier?"

Takeba simply growled and lunged forward to grab the bag from her hands, only for Akiko to laugh and slap the top of his head as he got close, sending the overweight man to the ground. Dazed, he slowly lifted his head and tried to refocus as he thought, _How did the bitch do that? She can't be strong enough to manhandle ME!_

He heard another giggle and looked up to see Akiko waving a finger chidingly towards her employer. "Naughty boy, Takeba-san. Don't you know it's rude to try and take something from a lady without permission?"

Takeba just scowled and shakily got to his feet. "I'm not in the mood for games, Akiko. Give me my bag _now._"

Akiko just smiled and widened her eyes in fake surprise. "Oh my, Takeba-san. You mean you haven't figured it out yet? You haven't even wondered just why your wife and son are laying right here in this office when they weren't when you first entered?"

Takeba's eyes widened with realization. _That __**is**__ a good question. Where did they come from and why didn't I hear them being brought in?_ With a strangled voice, he muttered out, "They...How...?

Akiko laughed again and closed her eyes as she said, "Oh, it's a simple explanation, Bosu." Takeba turned pale when her eyes re-opened to show black and white symbols in them. _**"Yes, a simple explanation indeed."**_

Takeba staggered back, trying to get away from the..._thing_ in front of him. "YOU! But...How did you-?"

"Akiko" laughed. _**"Oh, so confused. The real Akiko actually never woke up, so content she was in her sleep last night. Of course, the sedative I injected into her to prevent her from waking up this morning probably helped a little as well. As for what I am, it doesn't matter, does it?"**_ She then took the bag in her hand and tossed it into the air, the bag disappearing in a flash of light. Her smile turned malicious as her hands formed a Snake seal. She then whispered, _**"**__**Baku!**__**"**_

Takeba didn't even have time to think as a white hot light surrounded him.

* * *

Ignoring the explosions in the background, Kiyoshi raised a hand, his palm turned upwards, and said, _**"Hiashi-san, if you would, please turn on your **__**Byakugan**__** and tell the room what you see."**_

Hiashi nodded and muttered, "_Byakugan_!", causing the veins around his eyes to bulge as his eyes focused into their doujutsu. As he watched the boy, he noticed some sort of energy travel up the boy's arm and out his hand, coalescing into a solid ice crystal that hovered an inch above the open palm.

He stared at the object, amazed, before saying, "I've never seen anything like it. The energy has no set form or molding, and yet it reacted and turned into what Kiyoshi-san wanted. It doesn't even have a distinct color from what I see. To my eyes, it's just a collection of various colors swirling up his arm before turning into white light in his palm. Is this truly magic?"

Kiyoshi nodded his head and dropped his hand, the ice crystal disappearing. _**"Yes. Through training and practice, I am able to take the magic that resides within me and turn it into whatever I need. You saw firsthand of what we like to call "Black Magic," or elemental spells, when I froze that woman earlier.**_ Taking the knife in his hand, he quickly slashed the length of his arm before dropping it and raising his now-glowing hand. Quickly running his hand over the wound, he muttered, _**"**__**Cure**__**,"**_ causing the wound to seal almost instantly without a scar, much to the amazement of everyone else in the room. He then focused his attention back onto the room. _**"What you have just witnessed is termed 'White Magic,' or healing spells. These two disciplines are the most basic yet often-used magics that my clan can utilize. There's also Blue Magic, Green Magic, Time Magic, and, finally, Arcane Magic, which holds some of the most dangerous spells to learn – dangerous for both the magic-user as well as the target."**_

It was at this moment that an ANBU dropped from the ceiling and screamed out, "Enough of this trickery! DIE, MONSTER!"

Kiyoshi simply raised a hand towards the man. _**"Stop."**_ A gray clock flashed in front of the ANBU, and he froze instantly, standing in a running position while his arms were raised to strike a kunai into the boy's heart. If the man's mask had been removed, though, his eyes would be moving all over the room, trying to figure out how the boy had done this and why he was unable to even breathe without dying.

Kiyoshi continued. _**"The time spell, **__**Stop**__**. It puts the target in a complete stasis, as if frozen in time. Highly effective, yet quite dangerous to have on you if you are alone amongst enemies."**_ He then raised his hand again, his palm facing towards himself. _**"Allow me to demonstrate to most powerful of the Arcane magics."**_ His hand flicked out towards the ANBU. _**"Death."**_

A portal of shadow opened up, and a shadowy figure rose from the ground. It was completely enveloped in darkness, except for its red eyes and the bleached white skull of a curled-horn goat sitting on its head. There was a deep rumbling coming from it, like it was chuckling, as it raised its dark scythe up and hit the man with it. There was a flash of red where the scythe struck him, and the figure dropped back down into its portal. The rest of the people, save for Kiyoshi, were staring at the ANBU, wondering if he would split in half where the scythe struck. However, the man simply slumped forward onto the ground, not even his fingers twitching, as time seemed to resume for him. Sarutobi motioned to another ANBU to approach, and Dog jumped down and checked the man's pulse. He looked back at the Hokage and shook his head negatively, indicating that the man was in fact dead.

Kiyoshi, unseen to the rest of the room, signed to him, _Take body to T&I and examine_. Dog nodded his head and grabbed the body before shunshining away with it. Kiyoshi then gazed around the room once more. _**"As you can see, the **__**Death**__** spell does exactly what its name describes – instant death for the target. Of course, the odds are only very good for the caster if the target stands in one spot. Should the target be moving at a faster pace, those odds of success drop, though for a master of the spell, it doesn't matter. On the other hand, there are certain individuals in this world that the spell cannot affect, possibly because the strength of their own lifeforce is too great to feel the effects and in turn acts like a shield, or because certain items are in fact charmed to fight against it. If I had to venture a guess, the only people within Konoha's own forces that might not be affected like this would be the Hokage and his two students, Jiraiya and Tsunade of the Sannin, as well as Kakashi Hatake and a few other high-level ninja."**_ Kiyoshi's lips then morphed into a malicious smile. "_**Though this is only a possibility, and the **__**Death**__** spell is only the highest level of the Arcane branch of magic, not the highest of all."**_

By now, most of the members were beginning to shake as their minds began to connect the dots before them, which went something like this: Konoha pissing this kid off = kid using this ultimate spell he spoke of and wiping out the entire area = everybody who doesn't play nice with the kid gets fucked over.

There was a few more seconds of silence, save for the explosions in the background, as the rest of the room came to their conclusions, and one man, named Junpei Tashi, stood up from his seat and said, "Alright, I can't take much more of this. It's evident who's holding all the cards right now, and I'd rather face jail time than wind up dead. Hokage-dono, I wish to freely submit myself to your jurisdiction and confess to my crimes right now."

Hiruzen nodded his head and replied, "Very well. You shall be taken into the custody of T&I and be questioned on your actions. Depending on just how freely you give your answers, you may receive lesser jail time as well as a chance of parole. ANBU, take him to the interrogators."

Tashi bowed his head in acknowledgment and stood still as another ANBU member dropped down and grabbed the man before shunshining away. Hiruzen then looked to the rest of the council. "Would anyone else like to take this course of action?"

Several hands shot up in response.

4 minutes and 28 seconds left...

* * *

Sayuri Haruno was instantly regretting ever listening to her husband when he asked her to stand in for him today. She honestly didn't know about what was going on in that room, as she had only been in there once or twice for maybe an hour at most, and whenever she was, they had only talked of everyday business matters, not of passing some inane law over the Hokage's head or trying to figure out how they could make Naruto's life more like hell. Now, she finds out that not only has someone higher up found out about the Council's stupidity, they're punishing them with their lives.

Frankly, Sayuri _had_ noticed the Uzumaki boy, and tried to help when she could without drawing anyone's ire, but she had enough problems as it was. Sayuri was an orphan, her parents having died before the Third Shinobi War, and she was brought here to Konoha to live. Alone in the orphanages, times were tough for a little bit before Sayuri entered into the Academy. It was there that the girl completely shined, becoming a Genin with ease and rising through the ranks rapidly. By the time the Third War had come to a close, Sayuri Hanazuki was a well-decorated A-ranked Jounin ninja, called by her enemies as the Bloody Lily. By the time she was eighteen, marriage proposals came in left and right for the woman, though she rejected most of them.

She honestly didn't know what had drove her to accept the offer of the "merchant clan of Haruno" to marry their heir, Takeo, but she felt drawn to him for some strange reason. It wasn't like his personality was really that appealing to her, and he was more vain about his looks than any woman could be. If anything, Sayuri tolerated her husband and his brash nature rather than loved him, and not a day went by when she wondered why she made that decision to marry him. The rest of the clan looked at her as if she was an outsider that dared to break into their own world, and made no real effort to get to know her or even care about her. Maybe it was because they were civilians and she was a ninja. Maybe it was because they expected her to just be a trophy wife and sit in front of their guests, looking beautiful while keeping silent. Maybe they just wanted to prove that they had power over a ninja, any ninja.

The only person who really mattered to Sayuri anymore was her daughter, Sakura. Inheriting her mother's pink hair, the poor girl was often ignored by her older cousins and left to her own devices, which often included reading by herself. Sayuri was actually quite proud that her baby girl was so intellectual, reading and understanding things that should have been beyond a six year-old's comprehension, but she felt so sad that no one really made an effort to befriend her as well as angered that the clan elders would no doubt try to sell off the poor girl in a business deal. Not that it really mattered now, since no doubt the Tenshi boy was planning on just destroying the clan all together. As she ran towards the compound, the only thought in her mind was, _I don't care about myself, but please, spare my only child! Spare the only thing that matters to me anymore!_

Sayuri may not have been an active ninja for a while, but she still maintained her physique, causing her to reach the Haruno compound in record time. With speeds that could have rivaled the Yondaime's _Hiraishin_, she blew past all of the various houses and storage buildings of the compound and ran straight for the clan head's home – _her_ home, though in name only. Arriving at the door, she burst through, not even bothering to remove her shoes as she bolted down the halls, yelling, "Sakura? Where are you? SAKURA!"

A door opened down the hall, and Takeo's head poked out of the frame, frowning at his seemingly-hysterical wife. "Sayuri? What are you-"

"Out of my WAY!" Sayuri snarled, and she flew past the door, the force of the wind blasting him back into the room. She continued running up to the second floor, checking the rooms and calling her daughter's name, until she finally reached Sakura's room. As she got closer, she heard sniffling coming from behind the door, causing to Sayuri to quicken her pace once more.

Sayuri opened the door and looked to the floor behind the bed as she saw her child's head resting on her knees, her small body shaking a little from her crying. Moving quickly over to her, Sayuri put on what she hoped was a concerned face and not her previous terrified one as she asked, "Sakura? Sweetie, what's wrong?" Her face hardened slightly as she continued, "Was it your itoko* again?"

Sakura let out another sob as she just nodded her head slightly.

Sayuri growled a little before reaching towards the girl and gently saying, "We'll worry about them later, _watashi no saiai no ko_**. Right now, we need to get out of here, and fast."

Sakura raised her pink-haired head, her glistening emerald-green eyes looking at her mother in confusion. "Why, kaa-san? What's wrong?"

Sayuri shook her head and lifted her child up into her arms before moving towards the window. "No time, dear. I'll explain later." Lifting the glass, she stepped out onto the awning and began to jump from roof to roof. She did so until they reached the area outside the front gates, where Sayuri landed and dropped her knees, panting a little in fear as she thought, _Did I do it? Are we safe?_

A pair of black-booted feet stepped in front of her field of vision, and Sayuri looked up to see Kiyoshi Tenshi standing there, his black and white eyes glowing underneath the cowl of his hood. Despite not seeing his face fully, she could tell he had a slightly curious look on his face as he asked, "_**You save your daughter, the only thing that makes your life meaningful, yet you do not try to save anyone else in the clan. Why only save one yet condemn the others?**_"

Sayuri shook her head and held Sakura close, making sure the girl would not see those eyes. "They are worthless. They are all like a toothless dog trying to prove its dominance over bigger animals. I don't know why I chose to marry into the clan, but I refuse to do this any longer, not when my and my daughter's lives are in danger of being controlled. I no longer care for my own life, but I'll fight anyone to the death if it means giving Sakura a better chance." She fixed the boy with a determined stare. "Even if it meant fighting you, the Emperor's chosen warrior."

Kiyoshi raised a hidden eyebrow, and he turned his gaze from mother to daughter. Sakura was clinging onto her mother, her head buried into the woman's shoulder. He looked back at Sayuri. The woman had a gaze that, while somewhat frightened of what he would do, held a determination that left Kiyoshi no doubt that she would follow through on her words if he pushed her.

They continued to trade stares for a few seconds, until Kiyoshi looked down to his wrist, his other hand pressing the first two fingers onto the seal located there. A flash of light appeared, and Kiyoshi raised his hand to show a certain paper in it. "_**This emancipation request already contains the seals and signatures of both the Hokage and myself. All you need to do is simply sign them and get them to Hiruzen-san, and you and your daughter shall be completely free of the Haruno clan's influence, should you wish it." **_ He flicked the paper away, causing it to land at the woman's knees, before raising his fingers and snapping them. A few explosions sounded from the compound behind her, but Sayuri could only stare at the paper before her. Kiyoshi then said, "_**If you intend to sign them, I would suggest doing so now while the clan is in disarray and hasn't realized you've left yet. Your little display of speed will leave questions in their minds and make them wonder just how much of this you knew about; and if they were to get their claws back into you before you get away, let's just say that your life before this would have been more preferable, no?"**_

As Sayuri nodded her understanding, Kiyoshi turned and said as he vanished into the wind, "_**Go in peace, Sayuri Hanazuki."**_

Sayuri's eyes widened, and she wondered, _How did he know my former name?_ Rather than dwell on this, though, Sayuri shook her head and picked up the paper in her free hand. _Doesn't matter. I need to hurry while I have the opportunity. This may be the only chance we have._

Sayuri raised herself from the ground and turned her head to Sakura. "Let's leave, sweetie. Let's go begin again."

Sakura raised her head and smiled happily at her mother as she nodded in response.

Sayuri smiled warmly as well before turning and shunshining away towards Hokage Tower.

* * *

The entire police building was in chaos and had been so for the last fifteen minutes. Ever since the first explosions had begun, the Uchiha police force had been trying to quell fears around the village and find out what was the cause of this. Calls to the Hokage Tower had gone unanswered as the Council was still in its meeting and had closed its doors to outsiders for the moment. This would have been a perfect time to enact the Uchiha's rebellion, which they had been planning since Kyuubi's attack, but without Fugaku to give the order, the rest of the clan was at a loss at what to do. For now, all fighting Uchiha were called into action and sent to help quell the chaos in the village.

Maybe it was fate, or maybe it was just Kiyoshi's machinations, but it was interesting to note that the Uchiha who were out on patrol happened to be the ones who had voiced concerns and doubt over the plan for rebellion, calling it foolish and suicidal, while the ones in the stations were those who were all for rebelling. Normally, it was safer within the buildings while the patrols were more dangerous in these scenarios.

Too bad they hadn't met anyone like a Tenshi, because when they are involved, things are never as they normally seem.

Mikoto's cheek was still very bruised from last night when Fugaku struck her, and while she had tried to hide it with make-up, it still showed through somewhat. It was a minor irritant, though, allowing Mikoto to focus on the crowds below her on the street. So far, her team as well as others had managed to contain the chaos and set up perimeters around the areas hit by the blasts. Still, the whole situation nagged at her mind.

There was no connection that she could find yet between the various places, as it was a mix of businesses and homes. They weren't even strategic vantage points, all set off at random places at the village yet no where near the walls or critical facilities like the Academy or hospital. She had just gotten word of the Haruno compound suffering from blasts, but they were only part of the few minor clans hit; none of the major ninja clans had been hit so far, which allowed Mikoto to breathe a sigh of relief, since her youngest son Sasuke was still at home.

She was just about to head off to the next area when she heard several blasts in different directions. Mikoto widened her eyes when she realized that they were all in the same directions as the Uchiha police stations. Panicking slightly, she bolted towards the nearest after shouting orders to her squad to keep on going towards the next point.

Jumping from roof to roof, the only thing that could heard in Mikoto's mind was, _Why? What does this person hope to accomplish?_

Just as she landed in front of the burning building, she looked up to see a young boy standing there, staring into the fire from beneath his hood. He must have sensed her presence, because he then turned to her and stared at her straight in the eye. She froze at the sight of his white-and-black symbol-ed eyes in the darkness of his hood, and they both stared at each other for a few seconds.

After coming to his evident conclusions, the boy's etheral voice reached her ears. _**"Mikoto Uchiha, your clan walks a dangerous road, and you are no exception. All sins will come to bear eventually, and what may happen will not be pleasant. Look upon your clan's buildings and see the message displayed, and when you are able, you shall understand the meaning behind all of this. Yet know that even with the knowledge you gain, it is useless unless you act upon it."**_ Darkness pooled behind the child before shooting upwards into a portal, and the boy began walking backwards into as he said, _**"After all, you know this lesson most of all, don't you..."**_

The boy's final word bounced off the walls as he disappeared. _**"...Betrayer."**_

Mikoto's eyes widened as far as they could as certain memories came rushing back to her, and as she jumped to the roofs again and began running towards her compound, they beat against her skull like a battering ram, causing tears to fall down her face.

A short time later, she stood at the entrance to the Uchiha compound and allowed a watery smile onto her face when she saw it completely undamaged. Still, she moved swiftly through the place and made for her home. When she arrived, she threw open the door and quickly slipped off her shoes before calling out softly, "Sasuke? Are you still here, sweetie?"

Soft pattering of feet was heard in the next room, and Sasuke stepped into Mikoto's view. He looked at his mother's tears with confusion, causing him to ask, "Kaa-san? What's wrong?"

Struggling to continue smiling, she dropped to her knees and pulled her youngest into a hug, choking out, "N-Nothing's wrong, dear. Everything...everything is...ok...ay.." Finally losing her resolve, Mikoto broke down into sobs, clutching her son like he was her only lifeline. Sasuke tried to comfort his mother, but he was confused why she was acting this way.

As mother and son held each other, there was only one thing that rang now in Mikoto's mind.

_Kushina...I'm so sorry..._

* * *

The room had been silent for the last few minutes, as not many people were left in the room, and they were all watching the timer run out. Kiyoshi stared out the window, his speeches done, and was now apparently lost in thought. The others were too absorbed into their own thoughts as well, and even if they weren't, they felt more inclined to leave the boy to his musings. The timer in the front of the room was reaching the final two minutes, though it seemed like most of the explosions were finished, save for the occasional sounding of another going off every now and again. The timer then reached 0:00 and flashed red, and the remaining tags went off.

Afterward, there was nothing but silence.

The Hokage, who had been smoking his pipe a little for a few minutes, turned to the young boy and asked, "Is it done?" Kiyoshi simply nodded his head and stood on his feet. As he headed for the door, Hiruzen then asked, "Where are you going, Kiyoshi-san?"

Not even turning back, the boy answered as he opened the doors, _**"To face the masses who wish to kill me."**_

The room sat there in shock as the boy exited the room and walked down the hall way, and they continued to do so for a few minutes after.

It was at that moment when Sayuri, with her daughter right behind her, walked into the room and over to the aged Hokage, saying, "Hokage-dono, I, Sayuri Haruno, wish to emancipate myself and my daughter, Sakura Haruno, from Clan Haruno. We shall now be known by my maiden name Hanazuki, and I request to be put back onto the active roster for ninja duty. In doing so, I demand that Clan Haruno stay away from myself and my daughter unless it is a time of emergency or extreme import, and that even in such circumstances, the Shinobi Council be present to ensure a fair dealing."

Hiruzen snapped out of his stupor and somewhat hastily grabbed the papers, quickly looking through them. _I was wondering why he had me sign a bunch of copies of those, but could he have-? No, no, it was probably a just-in-case scenario that came true. In any case, it'll be good to have the Bloody Lily back._

He looked back at Sayuri and said, "I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, do claim these documents and conditions as valid and do hereby proclaim you as Sayuri and Sakura Hanazuki. Sayuri-san, your request for reinstatement into the ninja ranks shall be concluded following a test of your abilities at a later date. So shall it be."

Both women smiled happily at the news and bowed to the man, Sayuri saying, "Thank you, Hokage-dono!"

Hiruzen smiled in return for a brief moment before his face formed again into a frown. He then asked, "By the way, Hanazuki-san, did you happen to pass by Tenshi-sama on your way in?"

Sayuri looked confused for a second before replying, "Yes, Hokage-dono. I believe he was heading for the front door."

Eyes widened around, and Hiruzen jumped to his feet as he ran to the door, yelling, "Shit! The kid was serious!"

* * *

Kiyoshi stepped out of the double doors to see a large crowd beginning to form outside. Upon seeing his glowing eyes, many people began to back away a large distance, forming a large arcing line around him. They kept silent at the sight of him, afraid to say anything lest he attack them with everything he had.

Kiyoshi looked around and slowly walked to the middle, his arms spreading out as he said, _**"And so, another critical moment comes. You have seen the destruction caused and have come to demand the Hokage execute the one responsible. Yet, you fail to consider that there are other truths."**_

Looking around, he snorted at their expressions of realization before continuing, _**"Yes, I am the one responsible, the same as last night as well as the mob the night before. You sit here and ask why I would do such a thing, why I would kill your loved ones, but yet you all turn a blind eye to their true nature. You see me as killing the father, the mother, the son, the daughter; yet at the same time, I killed the slaver, the murderer, the rapist, the thief. You only see what you want to see, and when someone tries to show you the truth, you ignore his words, slash his neck and leave him for dead, no matter who he may be. Elder or child, it makes no difference to you, so long as you get your comforts. Is that why you have come? To kill me, the so-called child you see standing here? I, who have seen acts done that would haunt your nightmares? I, who fought in battles that make your so-called wars pale in comparison?"**_

Unzipping the hoodie, Kiyoshi let it fall to the ground, and the crowd gasped in shock, their eyes widening at the sight before them. The boy's scars were there for all to see, and many began to pale at the implications they represented.

Slashed diagonally across his back was a large pink scar that was not done by any weapon or jutsu technique but rather had a more feral, jagged quality to it, meaning an animal had caused it. However, there was no normal animal that existed that could do that, meaning that this scar was caused by something unnatural and _very_ large. Various weapons scars littered his chest, arms, shoulders, and many would have guessed his legs as well. The most dangerous of these was a large thin scar on his lower left abdomen, like a knife had been driven deep into there.

Kiyoshi slowly began to take in the crowd around him, showing his body from all sides. He took some satisfaction at the horrified faces on the civilians, as if their minds were saying, _How could someone make a child fight like this?_ The ninja, while not horrified as this was not something entirely new to them, still had shocked looks, as the amount of scarring and the age of the boy didn't match, unless he had been fighting constantly without reprieve for a while. He kept turning, making everyone present see him, and as he did, a manic smile began to form on his face. He then called out, _**"What's the matter? Is this too much for you? Can't stand to see your perfect little world disrupted by the harshness of reality? Grow up! You people think you have it soooo hard, but so many of you know NOTHING of true pain and suffering! How many "tough choices" have you had to make? How many of you truly held the lives of others in your hands and had to decide who had to live and die, all just because of some "greater mission" to fulfill?"**_

This sudden change from solemn to cruel shocked a few people, and the Hokage wondered, _What's up with this kid? I can understand the message he's trying to convey, but his mood swings don't make any sense. It's almost like something else is controlling part of his actions._

Kiyoshi started pacing around, circling the area and eyeing everyone like some caged predator watching his prey. _**"You all think that you matter, that nothing else exists beyond this little speck of dust and you are the center of the world. What arrogance! Your ninja wouldn't even survive ten minutes in the real world, but you never even consider that fact! You imagine yourselves as gods, but you are nothing but CHILDREN!"**_ He spread his arms again, gesturing towards himself. _**"But why should you have to listen to me talk? Why not prove it? Prove your strength or prove me right, I could care less – just prove to me why I shouldn't just obliterate this dust-ball and be done with this."**_ He then laughed derisively. _**"Or are you all too scared to take on a child in combat?"**_

At first, everyone just stared at him in shock, wondering just how someone could have such violent changes in mood, but then six masked figures jumped in the area and surrounded him. Sarutobi frowned at his ANBU and was about to call them off until Kiyoshi made a subtle gesture saying, _Leave __it alone_.

One ANBU, whom Kiyoshi noticed had a Monkey mask, said in a monotone voice, "Kiyoshi Tenshi, you will be taken into custody by order of the Council of Konoha. Should you give up peacefully, as well as due to the strength and cunning you have displayed here today, you will allowed to join Konoha and start your own clan, pending certain conditions that will be applied to you. You will also be placed under the Clan Restoration Act and will be given six wives to help further your standing and bloodline, as shown by the dojutsu in your eyes. Do you accept surrender, or will you be taken in by force?"

Kiyoshi simply smirked and raised an eyebrow as dark clouds began forming in the sky. _**"Was that a challenge?"**_

"Yes."

_**"So be it."**_

Upon those words, peals of thunder let out every now and again from the clouds, before the clouds split in a ray of light and revealing two figures that everyone stared at with awe and fright. Walking down upon the clouds were Chaos and Cosmos, Chaos' eyes glowing red while Cosmos' glowed a bluish white, and hundreds of lights shot out of the light behind them and headed for the ground.

As each light landed, it formed into a different person, each as varied as the next. Some were armored, some were not, some had weapons that many had never seen before while others had none yet still exuded an aura of power. Kiyoshi had to hold back a bittersweet smile as memories thought forgotten came rushing to him while he stared at these figures. _Terra-kaa-san, always so gentle and kind yet so fierce when something threatened her young. Yuna-kaa-san, always wanting to do things peacefully yet willing to stand against the tide no matter what. Cecil-tou-san, always talking about fighting for the good of all, never for greed. Squall-nii-san, never one for outward displays of affection but always caring in his own way. Kasumi-kaa-san, so cold to everyone yet still has love in her heart. Garnet-kaa-san, Cara-nee-san, Shadow-sensei, Golbez-oji-san, Garland-tou-san, Takeshi-tou-san, Ceodore-nii-san...***_

This continued for a few minutes, each person Kiyoshi named bringing back memories of both good and bad times, and adventures long forgotten by the world. Some looked sad, others interested, and quite a few looked like they wanted to launch from the rooftops and rush to him, if only to hold him for a few seconds. It took everything Kiyoshi had to not jump up to them and join them, but he held fast to his position, however much he hated to.

As the two gods descended, their respective auras flared out and surrounded them, Cosmos' white and holy light giving off an aura of peace and harmony while Chaos' red and black shadows giving off one of destruction, and those auras rained down upon the area where the seven people were standing, causing the land to expand and morph in seconds. A few trees shot out of the ground, the buildings were pushed back Finally, a dome of light formed around the area, forming a sort of protective barrier between the seven and the rest of the village.

As the ANBU surrounding Kiyoshi looked around in confusion, two thrones, one of white marble and the other dark and fiery obsidian, formed in the air behind Cosmos and Chaos, and the two sat in them before Cosmos called out, _"The challenge to our champion has been accepted. Kiyoshi, do you have any allies you wish to call to your side?"_

Kiyoshi gazed up to the spirits gathered around for a second before shaking his head and raising out both his hands. A flash in the right hand revealed a large triangular sword that looked like it was more used for crushing rather than cutting, as shown by the duller blade on both edges. It looked like it was segregated into smaller pieces, and at the end of the long handle was a red tassel. It was a version of the blade the fabled knight Garland once wielded, called the Nemesis Blade.

In his left hand flashed what some called a Dualweapon. It looked like a gun but had what appeared to be a blade retracted on the back of it. Kiyoshi, in particular, called it a gunsaber, the exact name of this one called the Blazefire Saber, and it once belonged to Lightning Farron.

He smashed the end of Nemesis into the ground while holstering Blazefire across the back of his waist. He rolled his neck until it popped and said, _**"I wish to prove my strength. I shall fight alone."**_

Roars erupted from the spirits, each one yelling to let them help, until Chaos raised his hand. The spirits went silent, though many were glaring at Kiyoshi as if calling him a fool, and Chaos asked, **"Are you certain? Six on one are not odds many would choose willingly."**

Kiyoshi growled. _**"Just start the damn fight."**_

"WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE, YOUNG MAN!" screamed out several female spirits.

Kiyoshi snorted and simply replied, _**"Commencing battle."**_ He grabbed the Nemesis and held it in a reverse grip while shunshining to the opposite side of the field, causing the ANBU to drop into battle stances.

Cosmos cried out, _"READYYYY!"_

Chaos then shouted, **"FIGHT!"**

Kiyoshi exploded forward, thrusting Nemesis towards one of the ANBU. To everyone else's surprise, the blade shot forward, transforming into a spear of sorts, and pierced one of the ANBU before retracting, dragging the man with it. When he was in range, Kiyoshi pulled Nemesis out of the man before splitting the blade in two and slashing with the halves multiple times. He then put the two together and raised the sword, the weapon reacting to his will and flipping the top half into a sort of hammer, before slamming it down. Not only did this crush the man, but several spikes shot up when the hammer hit the ground, piercing the man in several places and killing him.

By now the other ANBU had reacted, but not before Kiyoshi whipped out the gunsaber and shot off some rounds, dropping another to the ground. The remaining four ANBU got about mid-range before Kiyoshi grabbed Nemesis and swung it around, the triangle head shooting out on a chain like a whip and slamming into the third man before drawing him in. Once he was in range, Kiyoshi drew the weapon back and then thrust it forward in quick succession, converting it to spear form and forming a giant fiery ball on the end as Kiyoshi whispered, _**"Flare."**_ The ball slammed into the man, exploding upon contact, and threw his now dead body against the barrier hard.

Two of the remaining opponents were evidently now having second thoughts about whatever plan they had, because they chose to shunshin before getting to close to the boy while Monkey pulled out his tipless tanto and held it ready as he closed in.

Kiyoshi smirked slightly and sent Nemesis away with a flash of light before drawing Blazefire. As he did so, he twirled the weapon around on his finger, and it responded by pushing the blade forward until it reached the full length of its sword form. Kiyoshi swung the weapon a couple times and then blocked the ANBU's sword before it got too close. They parried blows for a few seconds, Monkey pressing hard but never gaining any ground, while Kiyoshi simply stood there blocking effortlessly, the smirk still on his face. Still, it was as if Monkey was unable to even scratch him, as no matter where he aimed his weapon, the boy seemed to dance, duck, or parry the tanto out of the way.

One of the hidden ANBU saw this distraction as an opportunity and jumped out of hiding from a tree, rapidly forming hand seals as he closed in. Kiyoshi saw this out of his peripheral vision, and he blocked the sword once more before kicking Monkey far away from him. He then quickly turned to the rapidly approaching enemy behind him and jumped back a little, his hand gesturing up while in mid-air. Within a split-second, a black orb formed under the ANBU and shot a red beam at him, stopping him in mid-air as it electrocuted him. Kiyoshi then teleported right in front of him and whispered as he raised his hands, _**"Cosmic Ray."**_ Bolts of ethereal lightning shot out of the boy's finger tips and hit the man, electrocuting him until all that remained was a badly charred corpse that fell to the ground.

Dropping back to the ground, Blazefire flashed back into Kiyoshi's hand as he ran towards Monkey, who had just gotten back onto his feet. Raising Blazefire and whispering, _**"Army of One!"**_, he spun into range of his opponent and began attacking wildly. Monkey couldn't even defend himself as Kiyoshi kept alternating between slashing with the blade and shooting with the gun while dancing around him, never standing in one place for too long. When Kiyoshi was done, Monkey could barely stand as his body was now covered with deep sword slashes and various bullet holes, all of which were bleeding heavily. But the boy wasn't finished with the attack yet, it seemed, because he then leveled the gun between the man's eyes and fired one last round, splattering Monkey's brains out of the back of his head.

As the corpse dropped, Kiyoshi slowly turned around as he sent out a chakra pulse and discovered the last member in the trees that were left, unwilling to leave his hiding spot. Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow at this. _A ROOT afraid of his opponent? That can't be right, as I sense the seals on him, yet he is unwilling to move from his spot. The most opportune time for his attack would have been when the other one jumped out and distracted me. He actually would have been in a perfect position to get close, yet he did nothing. Why?_

Flashing Blazefire away, Kiyoshi raised his fingers and snapped them after channeling some magic. The trunk of the tree exploded into flames, sending it crashing to the ground and throwing the man from his hiding spot to the boy's feet. Kiyoshi stared at him with his deathly eyes as the man stirred from the ground and got to his knees, raising his head to stare right back. _Odd. His soul has been tainted, but not beyond corruption. He can be saved, if given the right opportunity._ Kiyoshi slowly raised his hand and removed the mask from the man's face, revealing a pair of green eyes that were pupil-less and had black rings surrounding the green as well as auburn hair that fell out of its trappings.

Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow at the eyes. _A Yamanaka? No doubt one of the clan children that Danzo had kidnapped back during the beginnings of his program years ago. How interesting._ He raised his first two fingers, and a visible white glow appeared at the tips. _Let's hope my memory isn't too shoddy and I remember how to do this correctly. Reeeeally need to brush up on my fuinjutsu skills._

Quickly, Kiyoshi jammed the white light into the man's head as he cried out, _**"Fuinjutsu: Fuin Hakai!"**_ (Sealing Technique: Seal Destruction)

Seals appeared all over the man before exploding like glass off of him. The man staggered and nearly fell over again, but managed to straighten himself enough to stay on his knees. He raised his head again, only for Kiyoshi to chop his neck and send him into unconsciousness.

Kiyoshi turned away from the unconscious form and raised his hand to the side, pointing away from himself. An orb of water shot out of his fingers and formed into a medium-sized water dragon jutsu that swung around to head straight for the boy. It collided with Kiyoshi, not enough to hurt him but enough to wash away the blood and gore that littered his body, and when it was over, Kiyoshi simply shook his hair of any remaining water, completely cleaned. He raised a hand to the hoodie on the ground, and it floated over towards him and draped itself onto his shoulders. He then crossed his arms and said as the _Shinpan no Me_ faded, "No one shall stop me from my mission."

The spirits on the rooftops exploded into cheers at his victory, while many of the villagers just gaped at what they had seen. A nine year-old child winning against six ANBU level ninja without a scratch on him? This was impossible, yet their eyes couldn't lie nor could they claim the kid had an unfair advantage. The boy had chosen to fight alone against odds that should have been against his chances of ever winning, and the two beings from the sky had simply sat there and watched without raising one finger to help either side, yet the boy _won_. Suddenly, some of the boy's message had begun to sink in, and some people were actually now wondering if the lands outside of the Elemental Nations were really this strong. If anything, this little display had only furthered the image that this was not someone you wanted to mess with.

Kiyoshi smiled a little at the various spirits calling out their congratulations to him, but he was a little unnerved and noticed the looks on Cosmos' and Chaos' faces matched what he was thinking. _Why hasn't the barrier dissipated yet? There were only six, and the knockout should have counted as a win, __as the man's no threat to me now. What's going on?_

A loud, slow clapping was heard behind Kiyoshi, and he froze when a seductive voice said, "My, my, Kiyoshi-kun. How strong you have become. Why, it only seemed like yesterday you were just learning to hold a sword. Oh, how the years fly by."

Kiyoshi slowly turned towards a cloud of shadow that was forming, and out of it stepped a woman. Long silver hair covered the right side of her face, and the left side showed an eye with a glowing pink iris and an amused smirk on her lips. On her gray skin, she was wearing a black leather high-cut corset top that was laced closed on the back, leather pants, and high-heeled leather boots. Completing the look was a pair of elbow-length leather gloves on the arms that were now folded underneath her ample bust.

Kiyoshi's eyes widened, and he stepped back in shock as he stammered out, "Jenova? B-But you're dead! I saw you die four years ago!"

Jenova laughed and slowly started to move closer to the boy. "Yes, you did. Kind of hard to not see that, considering you're the one who killed me."

Kiyoshi backed away, making sure to keep a distance from the woman, as he growled out, "Shut up. I was not the bad guy that day; you were."

Jenova laughed again, this time a little harder and more shrill-like. "Oh yes, let's go ahead and play the blame game." She focused her stare at him, the amused smirk back on her lips. "But we all know that it was you."

The two began to circle each other, and some drops of rain began to fall from the dark clouds. Kiyoshi muttered, "I'm not listening."

"Go ahead, blame me for your own actions. Gods only know you felt justified in getting rid of me. What was the matter? Did my own children threaten your position as clan heir? Or was it the fact

that you just wanted to be rid of me?"

Kiyoshi snarled at her. "Don't you dare make me sound like I'm some heartless monster! _You_ were the one who attacked my kaa-san! _You_ wanted her dead because she gave birth first instead of you! It was _you_ who couldn't deal! I loved you! I fucking _respected_ you!"

Jenova vanished and reappeared right behind Kiyoshi, and she slapped him on the back of the head before reappearing at her previous spot, a small scowl on her face. "Watch your language, young man! You are in the presence of a lady and should hold those nasty words back out of respect!"

Kiyoshi let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, so _now_ you want respect? Funny how that word gets tossed around, and how you expect it even after all that you did!"

It was now Jenova's turn to growl. "Please! You know your kaa-san would have survived, no matter what I had done! That woman is far from helpless and would have been able to heal herself, never mind the fact that my little attack had alerted the rest of the family and would have been able to save her after fighting me off!"

Kiyoshi couldn't hold in his rage any more and screamed out, "THEN WHY ATTACK? WHAT WAS THE FUCKING POINT?"

Jenova returned the shout. "THE ATTACK WAS MEANT TO START THE NEXT CYCLE! I WAS AWARE I WOULDN'T WIN! I WASN'T EVEN _TRYING_ TO! I WAS ONLY DOING WHAT MY ROLE DICTATED, AND YOU _RUINED_ IT ALL! INSTEAD OF LETTING ME GO, YOU KILLED ME AND ENDED THE CYCLE PREMATURELY! NOW, EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE ALL WORKED FOR IS GOING TO COME TO AN END, ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID DECISION!"

The two stared at each other in furious silence, the rain coming down full force now. All that was heard was the water beating down onto the ground and the rooftops, as it seemed that even the villagers were silent at this little development, curious at the history between the two but not wanting to get involved. Kiyoshi glared into Jenova's furious pink eyes while she returned the glare back into the boy's cold blue eyes.

Neither moved an inch either way as the rain continued to beat down.

* * *

The Sandaime was rather confused by these changes in events. The six ANBU, he could care less about, as he had mentioned he would wash his hands of them if they ignored orders, though he was slightly curious why he didn't kill the last one. _Was it mercy? Was it the fact that the man hadn't tried to attack him and seemed to want to surrender? Or did he just need someone to interrogate later? Judging by what he did with the seals, he probably knew who the man worked for, so removing the seals before interrogation will help, but why the change of heart? In any case, we'll find out later. But who is this woman? She obviously knows him, but is she an ally or an enemy? Judging by the familiarity and what's been said so far, it seems that she was his father's first wife while he was born to the second one. But what's this about being the clan heir then? Usually most clans don't allow children from other wives to take that mantle unless the first wife was deemed to be barren. Then again, it seems the Tenshi clan isn't like most clans._

_Kiyoshi, my boy, I really hope you win this, because if this woman is someone who can make __you__ pause, then I don't think that any one standing here is going to fare any better._

* * *

The stare-down continued for a few more seconds, until Jenova smirked and stretched her arms a little. "Enough of this. It's time I did what I came for."

Kiyoshi popped his neck and muttered back, "Yeah." He raised his hand, and a very familiar nodachi flashed into it, causing Sarutobi's eyes to widen.

Jenova's eyes also widened, and her smirk grew into a malicious smile. "Oh? How interesting for your choice of weapon. Tell me, what makes you think you have the power to master your tou-san's sword? What makes you think you have the right to wield Masamune?"

Kiyoshi raised the sword until it was horizontal to his face before he answered, "That's where you're wrong. This is not tou-san's sword; it's _mine_. Behold, for this sword is the Murasame – the light opposite Masamune's darkness."

Jenova snorted. "Please. The sword you just named was one of your kaa-san's previous and more weak swords, and it looked nothing like what you're holding right now. Stop lying and admit that you took your tou-san's weapon."

It was now Kiyoshi's turn to smirk, but he said nothing as he moved the sword into a reverse grip horizontally in front of himself. Jenova's eyes widened a little when she looked more thoroughly at the weapon. The blade was the same length and silver color as the infamous Masamune, but the hilt was different. Instead of black hilt wrappings on a silver hilt with a rectangular guard, this sword's hilt was black with white wrappings, with the hilt guard being a perfect square rather than a rectangle, though it was shorter than the original.

Seeing her shock, Kiyoshi continued, "Yes, you remember this sword, don't you? You know it's mine and no one else's. It will only answer my call, and only I can unlock its full potential, just as how only tou-san can unlock Masamune's."

Jenova unconsciously backed away a little from the weapon. "H-How-? Where?"

"I found it again in the Hell Fields, untouched by the ravages of time. It's part of the reason I was able to survive. This weapon before you is not one of those other Murasame swords that have been made again and again through time; this is the True Murasame."

Jenova was silent as her head dropped, the shadows in her hair hiding her eyes. She remained so for a few more seconds before she said, "Get out of those wretched clothes and wear something more fitting. I will not have a battle with you wearing those disgusting rags."

Kiyoshi simply smirked. "Why, Jenova-kaa-san, you dirty girl. You would rather have me running around naked? For shame-"

Jenova's head shot up as she screamed, "JUST DO IT!"

Kiyoshi was confused by the look in the woman's eyes, as it was a mix of fury and something else he couldn't identify, but he raised his right hand and willed some magic and chakra into his palm. The light coalesced there before moving up his arm and traveling over his body, eventually enclosing him into a human-shaped cocoon. When the light flashed away, Kiyoshi stood there with the same cape he had worn last night, only now the black suit had been replaced with a navy sleeveless turtleneck, navy pants, a large brown belt bearing a symbol that no one could really identify, a metal pauldron on his shoulder, and brown boots. On his hand, the golden claw had been replaced with a large metal bracelet holding a brown leather glove that had sharp golden tips on the fingers.****

Jenova's eyes widened in fury, and a sword that resembled the Masamune flashed into her hands as she yelled, "You dare? You dare wear that woman's likeness in MY presence? I'M GOING TO SLICE YOU TO BITS, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"

* * *

In a room far away from Konoha, away from the Elemental Nations in fact, a woman with light brown hair and glowing brown eyes sat staring into a large crystal ball. She was wearing a rich blue kimono with ornate white patterns, and her face was emotionless to the scene she saw through the crystal. She had been staring into for a while, but the appearance of Jenova had unnerved her a little despite her not showing it. She swung a hand over the ball, sending the images away for the moment, and sat there pondering this development.

After a few seconds, she lowered her hand and touched the ground, sending a pulse throughout the compound. A few moments later, a silver-haired man with jade cat's eyes in a black hakama walked into the room. As he approached the woman, she raised her hand to him, which he took and brushed his lips against her knuckles before holding them to his forehead. When he lowered the hand, he asked, "Okaa-san, what is wrong? Why have you summoned us?"

The woman simply motioned to a spot on the floor, silently commanding him to sit. He did so, and they both waited in silence. The door opened again, and in walked a blonde-haired woman with glowing blue eyes. Her blonde hair was long but still had a spiky quality to it, and she was currently wearing a lavender kimono. Behind her were three other women - one with red eyes and waist-length dark brown hair in a crimson kimono; one with green eyes and calf-length chocolate brown hair in a pink kimono; and finally, one with brown eyes and short black hair in a green kimono as well as a white headband.

The women slowly shuffled into the room, and the blonde knelt before the first woman and asked, "Lucrecia-san, what has happened?"

Lucrecia looked to those present, and focused on the other women. She then asked, "Aeris? Yuffie? Where are your husbands? Why have they rejected my call?"

Aeris, the green-eyed brunette, bowed her head and replied, "Forgive me, okaa-san, but Zack had been dispatched to the Southern Continent a few hours ago to help with a small problem and will not be back until three days from now."

Yuffie, the black-haired woman, simply smiled and replied, "Come now, okaa-san. Stop scaring your younger _musume_.****** As for me, you know Reeve is currently in the Emperor's courts today."

Lucrecia simply nodded before turning back to the blonde. "To answer your question, Cloud-chan, a certain...development has happened in Konohagakure, and it involves your son."

Cloud widened her eyes a little but tried to remain composed when she said, "I-I see. And what, pray tell, has my son been involved in?"

"An enemy has returned." Lucrecia's hand flicked towards the crystal ball, revealing the image of Kiyoshi and Jenova facing each other in the dome.

Everyone else's eyes matched Cloud's at this sight, and Sephiroth whispered out, "Jenova..."

The red-eyed woman slammed her hands onto the floor as she glared at the ball and snarled out, "What the HELL? How is she alive? We all watched her die four years ago!"

"Tifa! That's enough! Now control yourself!"

The glare on the older woman's face caused said woman to recoil and mutter out, "Sorry, okaa-san."

Lucrecia simply shook her head at her daughter's overzealous nature and continued, "Kiyoshi was forced to show some of his hand, though thankfully not so much that he loses any sort of advantage over the Elementals in the village. I don't know why, but Jenova showed up after he had beaten six high-level ninja."

Spehiroth raised an eyebrow at this bit of info. "Oh? And how did he fare? Did they give him any trouble?"

Lucrecia allowed a smug smile onto her face. "Quite the opposite. He defeated them all within three minutes, killing five of them and knocking the last unconscious with nary a scratch on him."

The rest of the room allowed a little smugness onto their own faces and basked in this info for a few seconds before coming back to reality. They watched the scene continue to unfold, and when Kiyoshi revealed True Murasame, they were quite shocked to be honest. The weapon had been lost many years ago and had been deemed unobtainable for the rest of time.

Sephiroth then chuckled. "It seems that no matter how much time passes, Kiyoshi never fails to have a trick or five up his sleeves."

The rest of the room chuckled as well, but when Jenova screamed out her proclamation, all Cloud could think was _Please, my sochi. Please be safe_.

* * *

The two within the barrier shunshined further away from each other as the bodies of the ANBU vanished to outside the dome. When they raised their weapons into their respective stances, Kiyoshi closed his eyes and called out, "_Manadoraibu!_" His eyes then shot open, revealing glowing blue irises.

Both Kiyoshi and Jenova then called out, "Commencing battle!"

Cosmos had a worried look on her face but nevertheless called, "_Readyyyy!_"

Chaos then yelled, "**FIGHT!**"

Both opponents shot forward and clashed into a flurry of steel. Every sword slash that connected with the other would light up in a shower of sparks and white flashes, and Kiyoshi had to dodge in every direction possible as Jenova kept up with his speed. The two then separated and circled each other at a rapid pace, and Kiyoshi raised his hand and screamed out, "_Firaga!_"

Three large balls of flames shot out and homed in on the woman, who simply smirked and raised her own hand, shooting out a _Firaga_ of her own. The two attacks connected and exploded, and Jenova shot through the flames with a crazed smile on her face as she swung her sword horizontally towards Kiyoshi's chest. His eyes widened in surprise, Kiyoshi bent back from the deadly blade, almost coming to a right angle with his body. He didn't bend back far enough, though, as the tip of the sword connected with his skin and traveled across it, leaving a large slash across Kiyoshi's upper chest.

Kiyoshi grunted a little, allowing the force of the hit to send him flying away before landing on his feet and screaming out, "_HASTE!_" A large golden clock flashed under Kiyoshi's feet, and he shot to the side, circling Jenova once more. His free hand flashing through hand seals, Kiyoshi raised his fingers and called out, "_Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!_" (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu)

He let out a large breath, and a long dragon of flames spewed out of his mouth. The flames let out a roar before shooting towards the woman in the middle. Jenova simply smirked and whipped her hand towards the dragon, a massive ball of water shooting out of it and flying towards the flames. The two techniques collided, causing a large amount of steam to be released. Kiyoshi then jumped into the air and swung his sword in a flurry of slashes, each slash releasing an energy wave towards the center. Kiyoshi widened his eyes in shock as the waves hit the ground, meaning that he had missed entirely. He looked down as Jenova screamed out, "_HEAVEN'S LIGHT!_" The woman shot through the steam, her nodachi glowing with white light, and she swung upwards. Kiyoshi barely dodged out of the way, though she managed to slash his side and still sending him flying.

Kiyoshi's body impacted with the barrier hard, causing him to cough out some blood before he managed to move out of the way as the energy waves from Jenova's blade crashed into where he once was. He fell to the ground and stood on one knee, panting heavily as he chanted, "_Curaga._" He sighed as he felt his bones knit back together, but he jumped out of the way when his senses alerted him of another wave of energy attacks. He ran around next the barrier, circling Jenova again as she sent wave after wave of energy that collided into the wall behind him.

Flashing T-Murasame away, Kiyoshi held out his hands in front of him, and Yuna's Tiny Bee twin pistols flashed into them. He pointed both at Jenova and started firing rapidly, still circling her but now yelling with fury. Jenova was now forced to let up her attack and start blocking the bullets with her sword as well as a glowing pink shield of magic she conjured. She managed to block most of them, though a few got through her defense and nicked her in various places.

Kiyoshi continued running in a circle and shooting at Jenova, but he then molded some chakra and caused a _Kage Bunshin_ to morph into existence every few seconds with their own pair of pistols. The _Bunshins_ added to the assault while Kiyoshi kept creating more clones until they surrounded the woman.

While Jenova was focused on stopping all the bullets coming from the sides, Kiyoshi jumped high into the air and screamed out, "Try this, you BITCH!" He spun in mid-air and pointed his guns at her, a white light glowing at the ends. He then pulled the trigger, and hundreds of white bullets shot out of the ends and rained down destruction onto the ground.

Jenova cried out as she tried to dodge and block the shots, and the ground exploded into a dust cloud, dispelling the clones from the force. Kiyoshi landed back to earth, but he failed to notice another series of energy waves heading for him until it was too late. Each slash collided with him, causing his skin to rip open in various places and throwing him back against the wall again. Jenova then teleported in front of him and stabbed at his side with her nodachi.

Kiyoshi let out a scream as the metal drove into his flesh, pinning him against the barrier. Jenova smiled and stepped back a little, raising her sword and Kiyoshi as well into the air. She then looked at the slightly struggling and now heavily bleeding boy and laughed. "Look at you. You couldn't even defeat _me_, and I wasn't even at my full strength. What makes you think you can make a difference in the grand scheme of things?" Kiyoshi didn't answer her and simply hung his head, hiding his eyes in the shadows of his bangs.

The rain had turned into a torrential downpour during their fight, the lightning letting loose a rumble every now and again, and everyone present was getting soaked. The blood from Kiyoshi's wounds was pooling with the water on the ground, and Jenova laughed again. "Well? Don't you have anything to say?"

Kiyoshi didn't move at first, but he then slowly raised his head as he said, "Yeah." The fury in his eyes was intense as he said, "Fry, bitch."

Jenova's eyes widened as a glyph bearing lightning symbols on the sides widened under her feet, and she screamed as lightning shot up and shocked her mercilessly, causing her to drop the sword while she was stunned. Kiyoshi dropped to the ground on his feet and pulled out the nodachi in him, tossing it to the side as he rushed towards Jenova. He raised both hands and put them on her chest and stomach, yelling out, "_FLAAARE!_"

The explosion engulfed both of them, shaking the surrounding area, and two bodies, smoking and cut up, flew out a second later and collided with the earth away from each other. At first, neither moved, and everyone around waited on baited breath, wondering if both had been killed in the explosion.

Suddenly, Kiyoshi's fingers twitched, and he pushed himself up from the ground, his arms struggling to hold on to the weight from all the pain. When he got to his feet, he limped over slowly towards Jenova, his right hand on the bleeding wound on his left side – the same place he had been stabbed all those years ago.

He reached her body, and he looked closely at her from where he stood half a foot away. _She's still breathing, although shallowly. She's clinging to life, though I doubt she'll survive much longer._

True Murasame flashed into his left hand, and he looked at the blade curiously. _I didn't summon this. Why did it appear?_

Jenova let out a small cough, drawing Kiyoshi's attention back to her, and she raised her head a little at the sight before her. She smiled and laughed a little before coughing out some blood that ran down her chin. "So now what? Do you intend to finish the job? Or are you just going to let me die in my own?"

Kiyoshi kept glancing between the sword and her, his face betraying his hesitancy and fear. Jenova's smile turned cruel as she said, "You can't kill me, can you? Even though you know that I might just come back again, you can't bring yourself to kill me with those special eyes of yours - all because of the fact that you know you'll prove yourself a murderer if you do so. You know you'll be a murderer if you take my soul. But then again, you've already proven yourself that today with the destruction you've caused."

Kiyoshi shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and he reached out towards her, his eyes turning frantic. "W-We...we don't have to do those paths! I-I can still save you! Please! LET ME SAVE YOU!"

Jenova let out a bitter laugh before coughing up more blood. "Still so naïve. Did it ever occur to you that some of us don't want to be saved?" She coughed some more and looked up into the sky. "I...will always be a being of destruction, no matter what choices I make. No matter what happens, I will always strive to destroy this world and make it my vessel. I have known nothing else but destruction."

Kiyoshi hung his head again, causing Jenova to laugh again. "Yet even despite all that, you still cannot bring yourself to do it. Your mind keeps going back to that night, and you know that you'll prove yourself to once more be my murderer if you kill me, because deep down, you _know_ that what you did was nothing else _but_ murder. You know that had you given me the chance at life those years back, I _might_ have changed, however much of a pipe dream that was, but killing me kept me as I was and damned me to this path."

Kiyoshi didn't say anything. He didn't move an inch as Jenova's words ran through his head. He didn't even move when a large being clad in a white robe, long shaggy white hair, purple skin, and a demonic visage. In one of its hands were some prayer beads, and in the other was a short knife. This being was known as the Shinigami, and his face showed some irritation as he hovered closer towards the two. It then addressed Kiyoshi. **"Why do you wait, boy? Finish the job and seal her away before she passes on! Letting her go only gives her a chance to fulfill her desires later!"**

"I...can't. I can't do it. I want to save her." Kiyoshi didn't even raise his head when he gave that reply, and the Shinigami growled.

Another woman flashed into existence behind the Shinigami. She was lovely, with black hair cascading down her back and bright violet eyes that could comfort even the most tortured of souls. She was known by many names, but her most prominent one was Kami. She then gently said, _"You must do this, Kiyoshi. You must kill her, or else you shall never have peace."_

Cosmos softly added, _"Kill her, Kiyoshi. She is beyond redemption."_

Finally, one more being flashed into existence. She looked like Kami in face and figure, but her eyes were different. Instead of violet, the woman's irises were blood red. This was Yami, Goddess of the Underworld, and she scowled at the sight before her. _"Just be done with this, child. You know it must be done."_

Noticing Kiyoshi hesitating still, Chaos growled out, **"You made this choice, boy. Now kill her."**

The various gods kept repeating those words, "Kill her, Kill her," battering against Kiyoshi's mind and driving him to the brink. He then finally raised his head and screamed to the heavens as the _Shinpan no Me_ flared into life in his eyes before he took the sword in his hand and drove it into Jenova's chest.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment, Kiyoshi standing over Jenova's fallen body with a sword sticking into her heart. The three gods then said, "And now, it is over." Upon speaking those words, they vanished, leaving only the boy and woman inside the rapidly disappearing dome.

Jenova looked up into Kiyoshi's eyes with her own pink ones, and she smirked once more as she whispered, "Murderer..." Kiyoshi jerked his sword out, his eyes wide, and Jenova chuckled softly as she closed her eyes for the last time, causing the body to begin fading into black smoke.

The rain beat down as Kiyoshi stood over Jenova's now dissipating body and stared at the tattoo on his arm. As the black miasma that was Jenova's soul lifted from the ground and entered the markings, the numbers changed from "524" to "570", and some could swear that as it happened, there was more water running down the boy's face than before. When it was done, Kiyoshi dropped to his knees and gritted his teeth, causing Cosmos to rapidly approach him and lay a hand on his shoulders, pain filling her own face, while Chaos just stood near him solemnly.

As the Hokage slowly walked out of the tower, the Shinobi council following close behind him, and stood a few feet away from the trio, Kiyoshi's voice filled the quiet village square over the rain, "When I was five, Jenova, my father's first wife, tried to attack my kaa-san for no apparent reason, but she wound up missing and hit me instead when I got in the way. Frightened, angry, and deeply in pain, I had managed to pull the knife out of my side while they struggled and stab her in the heart, killing her while causing my bloodline to manifest within me. The trigger for _Manadoraibu_ is different from person to person, always changing to something different." He snorted derisively. "It seemed mine was to kill a traitor that I loved."

A large peal of thunder sounded high in the sky, but Kiyoshi then continued, "When our bloodline manifests, we are sent through a portal to a place known as the "Hell Fields" - a place where some of the most monstrously powerful creatures exist. There, we try survive for a year, learning to wield our power while unable to return home during that time. If we survive, we then are inducted as full members of the clan and learn from the ancestors that came before us in a special room.

"However, my trigger had left a large impact on me, and I was unable to drive that night from my mind. When I finally returned, I had...changed. Changed to the point where I sought out the summoning contract for the Shinigami himself, and I made a deal with him. I would do his bidding so long as I received the power I needed to protect my loved ones. He granted my wish, and in return, I received his powers of judgment in the form of the _Shinpan no Me_ and was told to harvest souls that had been corrupted by evil. Every soul that I kill while those eyes are active in me gets absorbed into the tattoo on my arms, acting as a counter while granting me more chakra and even random abilities when the Shinigami feels like it."

He turned his head to the Hokage, and in those tear-filled eyes, Sarutobi finally saw the image that existed beneath it all. Before him was not the battle-hardened warrior, nor was he the old veteran who had seen too much. No, before him sat the young boy, the child who had been tasked with a burden that was becoming too heavy for him to bear. They stared at each other for a few seconds, before Kiyoshi finally said, "I do not regret protecting those closest to me, and I'll murder a thousand people in cold blood if it meant saving just one person precious to me. But please..." Kiyoshi gripped his head as he hunched over, his face grimacing as he tried to hold back his sobs. "Make the screaming stop."

Cosmos finally couldn't take anymore and knelt to the ground, pulling the boy into her embrace as tears now fell freely down her cheeks. Two white wings came out of her back, and they wrapped around the two, wrapping Kiyoshi closer to her as she kept whispering assurances to the boy. Chaos only stood there, staring down at the boy, but he made one of his demonic wings twist over the two, shielding them from the rain.

The villagers began to slowly trickle away, heading back to their own homes and get out of the downpour, a few of them turning to look back at the sad sight every now and again, but Sarutobi and the Shinobi Heads stood there, staring in shock as the child who seemed so strong finally broke down.

After a few minutes of this, Sarutobi raised his hand to his communicator and switched it on. "This is a command priority one to all ANBU. I order for Naruto Uzumaki to be taken to my office to await a meeting with me." Not even bothering to wait for an answer, he switched the device off and headed back towards the tower. "It's time that he was finally given what is rightfully his." He then vanished into the building. The clan heads stood there for a few more seconds, staring sadly at the boy, before each heading their separate ways, leaving the boy with his god and goddess while the spirits sadly returned to the heavens.

As Kiyoshi continued to sob into Cosmos' chest, Jenova's final word kept replaying over and over in his ears.

**_Murderer..._**

* * *

_***itoko = cousins**_

_**** **__watashi no saiai no ko_ = roughly(?) translated, my dearest child

_*****Some of the characters of Dissidia don't actually have names but rather titles of sorts (i.e. Warrior of Light, Onion Knight, Cloud of Darkness). However, I later learned Onion Knight's real name is Luneth, so that's how he'll be referred to later on (if I do more cameos with him). As for the other two, the Warrior of Light has been given the name "Takeshi", which also means "Warrior", and the Cloud of Darkness has been given the name "Kasumi", meaning "Mist".**_

_****** Otherwise known as Cloud's Kingdom Hearts outfit**_

_******* musume = daughters**_

_**A.N: 34 pages later, and I finally manage to get this thing done. I apologize again for the time I took to write this, but I felt this chapter had to be written out the way it did without forcing it, as well as the fact of my other priorities. I realize that Naruto has kind of taken something of a back seat here, but remember that he can't really do anything at this point in time. I promise, starting next chapter, he will have a more prominent role.  
As for the Ino poll I had mentioned before, I have gotten some responses to it and have decided to leave it up for another week. At the current moment, it's a tie, and I have decided that if it ends in a tie, then she'll join Kiyoshi with Sakura. I am also going to take the time to tell everyone that the number of girls for Kiyoshi and Naruto will not exceed three, if it comes to that, so those of you who don't really care for large harems can breathe a sigh of relief. Also, for those of you who think that this will change the story in a major way, no, it actually won't change it too much. There will be subtle differences, but the overall storyline will not be affected (THAT poll will come much, much later).**_

_**Thanks to everyone for reading thus far, and be sure to review when you're done!  
**_


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto sat in his seat before the Hokage's desk, waiting for the elderly man to tell him why he was brought here. Tenten and Lee were currently outside with the Teuchi's, confused as he was as to why Sarutobi wanted to speak to him so badly.

The rain was continuing its downpour outside, and it looked like it was going to do so throughout the night, though the thunder had subsided for the moment. The old man was currently sitting at his desk, though he had yet to say anything to Naruto beyond the cursory greeting and offer to sit and was now currently thumbing some tobacco into his pipe. Naruto was aware of the ritual by now. Sarutobi usually only did it whenever he had something important to say and needed some time to prepare his thoughts. _It is always better to take a few extra minutes to make sure you make your message clear than to rush in and make it worse_, Hiruzen once told the boy when he was curious why the elderly man always did so. The Hokage lit the pipe with a small fire jutsu and took a small draw from it, sighing out the smoke slowly. He looked older than before, like something was weighing on his mind that he was guilty of.

He turned to the child in the chair and said, "I have called you in here right now for two reasons, Naruto, but first I wish to make something clear. I never wanted to hide anything from you, as the information was dangerous to you in so many ways if it was learned early, but recent events involving Kiyoshi-san have made me see something that I wish to avoid with you. However, as it is dangerous, you must be careful of who you tell it to, or else you might endanger them as a result."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding, and Sarutobi continued, "Remember what I once said about your parents, Naruto-kun? What they were like?"

Naruto smiled a bit, though the smile was somewhat sad. "You always told me that both Tou-san and Kaa-san were great ninja who had much compassion for their comrades and those they protected. You said that tou-san was a bit of a goof but always worked hard with everything he did, while kaa-chan had a kind heart and was sometimes very vocal with her feelings on things whenever she was happy or sad or angry."

Sarutobi chuckled at the memories that sprang up. "Yes, she was. Her temper was actually legendary around Konoha, and it seemed that only your otou-san could get her to calm down. They were also very renowned ninja, who had enemies from many nations that would love to strike back at them in any way they could." He then let out a tired sigh. "And they were some of the best friends a person could ask for."

Naruto shifted a little as he asked, "How did they die?"

Sarutobi shook his head. "We'll get to that in a bit. For now, we shall focus on the 'who' rather than the 'where.'" He took a long draw from the pipe and then exhaled it slowly. "Your kaa-san's name was Kushina Uzumaki, otherwise known as the 'Red Hot-Blooded Habanero'. She was a force of nature all her own both on and off the battlefield. When she first found out she was pregnant with you, she was ecstatic for weeks, and she spent hours of her free time pouring over old scrolls of the Uzumaki clan to plan what to teach you."

Naruto's eyes widened a little at that one word. "Wait, jiji! Did you say 'clan'? There was an Uzumaki clan? Why have I never heard of them before?"

Sarutobi allowed a small pained look onto his face. "That's because they're all gone now. For a time, your mother was the only known Uzumaki alive; the rest were destroyed when some unknown force attacked Uzushiogakure back before the Third Great Shinobi War. If there are any survivors, then they have been scattered to the wind and have probably changed their names to avoid detection from everybody. And now, you are the last surviving Uzumaki that we know of."

Sarutobi took another drag from the pipe. He was silent for a few seconds as he allowed Naruto to process what he had just been told, before continuing. "Your tou-san as well was very famous. So famous, in fact, that there are many outside of Konoha who know his name. Many people who still fear and revile him, despite his death. He was a good man, a kind man, and a hard worker whose efforts paid off into creating the most renowned jutsu of the Shinobi world, the _Hiraishin_."

Naruto's eyes widened even further as his mind came to the same conclusion that Sarutobi then validated. "Yes, Naruto-kun. Your tou-san was Minato Namikaze, otherwise known dually as the Yellow Flash and the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha."

Naruto stayed silent at this, listening to the rain beat against the windows. All along he had always admired the Yondaime for his courage and intelligence on the battlefield, but he never would have suspected that he would ever be the man's son. Finally, he looked up at Sarutobi, causing the man to nearly flinch at the slightly pained yet mostly curious look on the boy's face. "Why, Jiji? Why wasn't I ever told?"

Sarutobi shook his head and rubbed his temples. "Those were dark times, Naruto-kun. The Third Shinobi War had been over for only a few months before your tou-san had been instated as the Yondaime, and it was only about six months after that event that your kaa-san told him she was pregnant with you. Iwa was still reeling from the blows Minato had thrown at them, and they would have loved nothing more than to enact revenge on him by killing you and your kaa-san. Not to also mention Kumo probably taking a shot at you when you were three when they tried to kidnap one of the Hyuugas, either to kidnap you as well or to simply kill you. Any other country would have just wanted you as a hostage or to bolster their own ranks with their very own Namikaze, as Minato's sealing abilities were legendary in the Shinobi world.

"And all of that doesn't even cover the problems it would have caused here alone. Granted, you would have been protected from everyone here who wished to do you harm, but who would have raised you without any form of intent to mold you into what they wanted? Sure, there were many clans that would have possibly fit into this category, but their own ideals could have come out in years to come and influenced you. Not to also mention that most of the civilian council used their power to block any adoptions the clans may have wanted for you. Had they found out you were the last Namikaze, they would have fought tooth and nail to keep you hidden from me and would have only let you roam free when they were certain that you were a puppet to only their own strings. As a close friend of your parents, I couldn't allow that, so I hid your heritage from any who wished you harm and put everything that belonged to you in a safe place so that only you could touch it."

The old man sighed again and leaned back into his seat. "I was planning on telling you the day you became a Genin, since you had expressed an interest in being a ninja, or if that had failed, I would have told you the day you turned eleven years-old. I had hoped by then I could have instilled some ways of politics and noble decorum in you without being too obvious so I could prepare you for it, but recent events have forced my hand to start my plans early. I refuse to see you broken, Naruto-kun, because if that had happened, I would be spitting on your parent's memory for not doing enough."

Sarutobi let Naruto ponder this all within his mind. The boy didn't like to show it, but he was intelligent and could make accurate assumptions. All he just had to do was correct those assumptions if he thought wrong.

Time passed in silence for a few minutes as Naruto kept running through the facts. _ I'm the Yondaime's son? I know Jiji said the reasons why I wasn't told. Heck, I'm struggling to not run out of this room and tell Ayame-nee-san and Ichiraku-san about this. But I'm also getting the feeling that there's still more to all this._

When Naruto looked into the old man's eyes again, he asked, "What was the other thing you wanted to tell me?"

Sarutobi just puffed his pipe again, his face never changing its sad expression. "You have always been curious as to why some of the higher-up merchants have always had a dislike towards you and why some many civilians are neutral to you no matter what you do, and that can only be answered with a little bit of history. Tell me, Naruto-kun, do you remember the story about the Kyuubi?"

Naruto's blond head bobbed in acknowledgment. "Yeah, I do, Jiji-san. Six years ago, the Kyuubi came to Konoha and started to attack it for no apparent reason. After about an hour of holding it off, the Yondai- Tou-san arrived on the battlefield and used some unknown jutsu to defeat the Kyuubi, causing his life to be lost in the process."

Sarutobi smiled a little. "It's interesting that you use the word 'defeat' rather than 'killed'. There is one thing to remember, Naruto-kun, and that is the Kyuubi cannot be killed, at least not permanently. The only way we can defeat it without causing some sort of cataclysm is to seal the beast away, and the only way to seal the Kyuubi away, seal away the strongest of the bijuu, is to use the body of baby whose umbilical cord had just been cut."

Naruto's eyes widened in realization. "So if the day it was defeated was also my birthday, then...that means..."

Sarutobi's eyes disappeared into the shadows of his hat as his head lowered in shame. "Yes, Naruto. Your tou-san used you as the vessel to seal Kyuubi into. You are the jinchuuriki, the living sacrifice, of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Tears began to spring out of the boy's eyes as all the remarks of the villagers who hated him made sense. He lowered his head as the tears fell from his eyes, and he quietly sobbed for a few minutes. Sarutobi wanted to comfort the boy, but he also knew that Naruto would see it as pity - and pity was not what the boy wanted. So he just let the boy get it out of his system and listened to the rain while he slowly breathed into his pipe.

Eventually, the boy's sobs subsided, and Naruto raised his head as he asked, "Why me, Jiji? Why did Tou-san...do it?"

Sarutobi kept his head lowered, though in remembrance now. He was there when Naruto was born, had tried to help when an unknown masked man intruded and interrupted the resealing of the most feared creature in the world, killing the ANBU there as well as Hiruzen's wife Biwako. He remembered how Minato allowed the beast to go free in order to grab his newborn son from the man's clutches. How Minato had hoped that by doing this ritual in secret, he could have spared the village's scorn against his child but now with the beast loose, it would be sealed in front of witnesses.

Finally, the old man spoke, "Your tou-san...Kami, he was so heartbroken. That had been the only time I had ever seen him look so defeated when he made that choice. He tried, Naruto, he really tried to spare you from this fate, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew that only an Uzumaki, with their longevity and incredibly strong life-force, could hope to survive the sealing of Kyuubi. He cried when he made that decision to choose his village over his own flesh and blood, but he was also aware that you were the only one who could hold the beast back."

Sarutobi shook his head as more memories came to him. "The Uzumaki clan was known for its incredible sealing abilities, but their extremely powerful life-force was what enabled them to survive injuries that would put down a normal man. I remember Kushina getting up and joining the battle, despite the fact that a normal woman would have been too weak to hardly walk, let alone join a full-pitched battle against a bijuu. That was why it had to be you. While another child could have worked, you were the sure shot, the one person who could have the beast sealed into without it trying to influence you in the long run. So, Minato used the _Shiki Fūjin_ technique to seal half of the beast's chakra, the "Yang" half, into you while he sealed the rest into himself. In doing so, he gave half of the beast's soul to the Shinigami as well as his own, killing himself while saving you and the village from the beast's wrath."

Naruto slowly nodded his head, his eyes a little farther away, and he then asked, "And Kaa-san?"

Sarutobi leaned his head onto one of his hands as he raised his head to look at the boy again. "That's where things get a little confusing. Reports claim that she had followed your tou-san to the sealing. Whether to aid him or stop him, we don't know. We do know, however, that when the other ninja and I had arrived there, only your tou-san's body was on the ground. She was too wounded to have gone far if she had left the area, as she had taken a glancing hit from one of the Kyuubi's claws to protect you – something that could still be considered a mortal wound – but our searches for her revealed nothing. I just assumed that she died and her body was destroyed by Kyuubi's chakra. Whatever the case, there was no way she could have survived all that she had been through, even if our best medics had arrived in time."

Naruto nodded his head again, his eyes still far away, and Sarutobi smiled and said gently, "I know that this is a lot to take in, Naruto-kun, but never forget this: Your parent's loved you deeply. Even despite the decisions they had to make, they cared for you more than anyone could imagine. If there had been another way, I know they would have taken it so that they wouldn't have had to leave you alone. Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded his head again and let out a small sniff. He had always wondered what had happened to his parents, and some of the more vicious people in the village had always remarked that he was abandoned or that they were traitors who had been killed. But now he knew the truth, even if others didn't yet, and he no longer cared what they said. His parents died to give him life, and he was damned sure he was going to make them proud!

He wiped the remaining tears off with his arm and looked up at the elderly man with a bright smile. Even despite his sadness, he felt a weight begin to leave him, and a newfound joy filled him.

Sarutobi smiled again, this time more happily. _I've always known you were strong, Naruto-kun, and now you're going to get the chance to prove to those idiots out there that this strength is not false._ Following this thought, he said as he stood from his seat, "Come along, Naruto. It's time I showed you your inheritance."

The boy got up from his seat and followed the old man out the door, where the others waited outside the room. Sarutobi turned to Teuchi and said, "Teuchi-san, seeing as how you're one of the few adults that I trust around Naruto-kun, how would you and your daughter like to be paid to watch over him in his new home?"

Teuchi widened his eyes slightly as he thought, _He's giving the boy his inheritance?_ He then broadly smiled as he thought, _Good. It's time the boy got what's rightfully his_, before saying aloud, "Of course, Hokage-sama! Ayame and I would be happy to keep an eye on him while he gets settled in!" Beside him, Ayame nodded her head as a smile adorned her own face.

Sarutobi then turned to Tenten and Lee. "Since I'm sure that Naruto-kun wouldn't mind having some friends by him, you two are welcome to stay with him as well, provided you can keep quiet about a few things you see."

Naruto looked at the two of them as well and said, "Come on, guys! It'll be fun!"

The two children looked at each other before turning back to Naruto, and Tenten smiled as she replied, "Sure, Naruto! Both Lee and I would be happy to see your new home!" Lee smiled and nodded his head and said, "Yosh!"

Sarutobi laughed a little and said, "Well then, since that's all been taken care of, let's head out." He then turned to head towards the exit but suddenly paused at what he saw.

A figure wrapped in dark cloak stood there down the hallways a little, with only the lower half of the boy's face showing while the rest was covered with shadow. It was obvious it was Kiyoshi, because both Cosmos and Chaos stood next to him, Chaos's arms crossed over his chest as he observed the scene before him while Cosmos alternated between looking worriedly at Kiyoshi and watching the others.

It was spoken in a low tone, but Sarutobi could hear the boy clearly when he said, "I see you have decided to reveal your secrets to Naruto, Sarutobi-san. Are you ready to show him the rest?"

Confused as to just how much the young man before him knew, Hiruzen nevertheless replied, "Yes, Kiyoshi-san. We were heading there just now."

"Good. Then I shall join you."

Suddenly, six figures similar to Kiyoshi appeared next to the group, and the boy himself turned to his Gods and bowed to them in thanks. Chaos nodded his head and disappeared in a flash of fire, while Cosmos slowly walked up to the boy and hugged him tightly for a few seconds before turning and disappearing in a flash of light.

The six figures then laid a hand on each person, and they were shunshined outside of the building, Kiyoshi following in his own.

* * *

The group reappeared outside a pair of massively high gates, the walls next to them matching in height and running down each side for a couple miles. Tenten and Lee looked around in awe, as the estate they were standing in front of was a few miles away from the Hokage Tower, located in a more secluded part of Konoha on top of a small hill, though it was still part of the village proper. Behind the gates, down a long path, sat a large mansion, about three stories high built in a more modern style, and behind it sat several parts of the rest of the home scattered in their own buildings in the older style of some of the other clan complexes like the Hyuuga. This complex belonged to the Namikaze and Uzumaki clans, and the building before them was the Namikaze manor.

Naruto gaped at the mansion, his mind trying to comprehend what was before him. _This is my new place? This is where I would have moved into when I got older? How much money did tou-san and kaa-san have?_

"Naruto."

Naruto snapped out of his staring to look at Kiyoshi point towards a seal on the gates. "You'll need to put some your blood onto the seal in order to let us in. Otherwise..."

The six forgotten bunshins rushed the entrance, one heading for the gates while the other five tried to jump over the walls. The five hit a shield of light before they were electrocuted with high-powered lightning, while the last seized it's hands onto the metal gate, subjecting it to the same treatment of lightning. All the clone dispelled as a result, and Kiyoshi continued, "The estate will prevent us from entering and probably kill us."

Hiruzen shook his head and chuckled, the rain still falling around the group. "Minato was always considered a genius with seals, and Kushina was no slouch either. It's no surprise they came up with a lot of seals to protect the estate from any form of intruders. I seem to remember some of the more idiotic of the shinobi try to sneak it to steal what they could, only for their corpses to be found outside these walls. If anyone ever got in, they never got out, I can assure you of that."

Kiyoshi nodded his head and swept his hand towards Naruto's own. "I believe all you'll need to do is to bite one of your fingers and swipe the blood onto it to release the security."

Naruto nodded and raised his right hand, his thumb sticking out towards his mouth. He bit down on the side, puncturing the skin, and raised the bleeding appendage and swiped it on the marking.

The seal glowed a little in response, and the gates opened, much to the relief of everyone present. As they walked in, Sarutobi muttered, "I also remember the one fool who tried to circumvent the seal explode into a bloody mess. It took the chuunin hours to clean the area completely."

Kiyoshi chuckled darkly and said, "While that is interesting, Sarutobi-san, may I suggest we hurry towards the mansion? No doubt everyone else would like to get out of the rain." Sarutobi just nodded in response.

After re-biting his thumb and swiping the blood onto the seal on the front doors, the doors swung open to allow everyone in, and Naruto again gaped. The mansion was even more impressive on the inside than it was on the outside, and he knew it would probably take him hours to search the place.

Kiyoshi walked over to a nearby table and swiped his hand on the surface before raising it to look at his fingers. He then muttered, "There's no dust..."

Sarutobi turned his head to the young man. "Kushina hated having to try and clean a building as large as this, so both she and Minato created seals that did the dusting and whatnot. It doesn't surprise me that they still work even after all these years."

Naruto continued to look around, moving across the room in wonder, until his foot crossed over a large seal on the ground, the last remaining blood on his thumb dripping down onto it. The seal glowed brightly, startling everyone and causing both Kiyoshi and Sarutobi to slide into battle stances. A sword flashed into Kiyoshi's hand as he shouted, "Naruto!"

Suddenly, there was a bright flash, and when the light faded, a woman was standing there. She had a slender and very feminine build, with an impressive bust despite the fact she was only five-and-a-half feet tall, and her bright red hair was flowing down her back with a black clip holding her bangs to one side. Her cobalt eyes held amusement and happiness as she gazed down at the boy before her. She wore a high-collared, sleeveless white blouse under a green dress, and on her left wrist was a navy-blue band.

Sarutobi froze in shock, and his eyes widened as he whispered, "Kushina..."

Looking only at the blond boy before her, Kushina knelt down and stared into Naruto's bright blue eyes before enveloping him into a tight hug. Shocked at first, Naruto returned the gesture with a hug of his own, fighting back his tears of joy as he tried to capture this feeling in his memory.

Everyone else stood off to the side, not wanting to do anything to disturb such a happy scene. Sarutobi and Teuchi smiled sad smiles of their own as they remembered the woman before them, while the rest of the children were confused yet happy that Naruto got this chance. Kiyoshi had a small smile of his own, though it was barely noticeable under the shadows of his hood.

Mother and child sat there for a few minutes as they silently communicated their emotions to each other, radiating a warmth that could only be felt between family, before Kushina pulled away and looked again at her son's face while she brushed some of his hair out of it. She then whispered, "My sochi, my sochi, how you have grown."

Naruto could barely choke back a happy sob, but he let Kushina continue. "I know that what your tou-san and I have done may seem hard to bear, Naruto-kun, but know that no matter what, we will always believe in you. Grow strong, my sochi, and become the best you are able."

A few tears streaked out of the boy's eyes and down his cheeks, but Naruto nodded his head, not trusting his voice. Kushina smiled wider and leaned forward to kiss his wet cheeks before pointing down the hallway. "Follow your tou-san, dear."

She then leaned forward once more and kissed Naruto on the forehead. As she did so, small particles of light began to emanate from her body, causing her to fade, and she whispered into Naruto's ear, "I love you, my sochi. I love you so much."

Just before she faded, Naruto managed to whisper out, "I love you too, Kaa-san." Kushina's body then broke into light and vanished.

* * *

As Naruto stared at where his mother once stood, Sarutobi whispered out, "What was that? A clone?"

"No."

The rest turned to look at Kiyoshi, who crossed his arms as he continued staring at Naruto. "It was a chakra imprint, a last message for a person whose blood matched the seal. It was meant to activate when said person's blood came into contact with it. Both Minato-san and Kushina-san wished to ensure their son received their last words."

* * *

Naruto fought for control over his emotions, though it was starting to become increasingly difficult, and he wiped his tears away on his arm before turning to where his kaa-san had pointed. At first, there was nothing, but soon light began to coalesce in the middle of the hallway and flashed to reveal another person. It was a man this time, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. His spiky blond hair and playful bright-blue eyes matched Naruto's own, though he also had long spiky bangs framing his face. His attire was more battle-oriented than Kushina's, consisting of a standard Konoha-nin uniform with two bands each on both of his sleeves, a flak jacket and a forehead protector and black sandals, a short-sleeved long white coat, decorated by flames-like motifs on the edges, with the kanji for "Yondaime Hokage" written vertically down the back, and closed on the front by a thin orange rope over the whole ensemble. Words weren't needed to tell who this person was, because it wasn't hard to recognize Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash of Konoha.

He looked down at his son, his grin never leaving his face, before he raised one hand and motioned for Naruto to follow him. He then turned down the hallway and walked into the shadows, and Naruto raised a hand towards him and yelled, "Hey! Tou-san, wait!" before chasing after him.

Sarutobi made to follow, only for Kiyoshi to quickly block his path with a raised arm and say, "No. He needs to do this alone. Let him have this moment before checking on him."

Still not too sure, Sarutobi nevertheless nodded his head and waited.

* * *

Naruto raced down the hall, trying to keep up with his tou-san's long strides as said man continued walking a few feet ahead of him. Where were they going? What was his tou-san trying to show him?

Finally, Minato stopped and turned towards a door before stepping through it, and Naruto dashed to it and opened it. Inside sat a large oak desk in the middle of the room, a few bookshelves full of various scrolls and books behind it, and Minato stood behind the desk's left near the drawers. He silently bade Naruto to come towards him.

* * *

Kiyoshi chuckled at Sarutobi's uneasiness and moved around the room, looking at several objects without really paying that much attention to them. "I know you are worried for him, Hokage-san, but I know that he is safe within this place. However, he needs to do this for himself, by himself."

Sarutobi crossed his arms and sent the young man a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Imagine being in Naruto's shoes. You're a young child who has never known who his parents are in any way, shape or form. Sure, he had you to tell him about them without being TOO specific, but that's not enough for someone like him. He has never known the love of a parent except for when he looks at others, and he yearns for it almost dangerously. It's not enough to simply be told; he has to be _shown_ it."

* * *

Naruto approached the tall man, going around the desk to stand at his side, and Minato copied Kushina's movements by dropping to his knees to get a closer look at the boy. They stared at each other for a few seconds, before Minato quickly drew Naruto into a tight hug, tears falling slowly down his cheeks. Naruto returned the hug, his own tears falling freely now, and Minato said, "I'm sorry, sochi. I'm so sorry..."

* * *

"To be shown such love by the very people he has yearned to know, Naruto will learn to say goodbye and move past such things. It will break him, yes. It will break him completely. But it will also allow him to let go of the burdens he has felt all these years, and he will rise again all the stronger and for the better." He then chuckled and looked out one of the windows, watching the rain fall from the heavens. He muttered to himself, confusing those who heard him. "But then again, can this really be considered 'goodbye' or just 'see you later'?"

* * *

Father and son held each other, letting the pain built up all these years wash away with their tears. There was so much to be said, and yet nothing needed to be. They both now understood everything, and Naruto felt his heart lighten with each sob as he let out all his rage, his sorrow, his hurt. He suddenly felt another pair of arms wrap around him from the back, more slender and feminine than Minato's, and Kushina rested her head against her son's back. She lightly hummed for her two boys as they cried out their frustrations.

* * *

Kiyoshi turned to everyone and looked at them straight into their eyes. He raised his hand towards them as he said, "Of you all, the ones to witness the destruction of Naruto Uzumaki and his rebirth into Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, I ask this: will you be the ones to keep him strong? Will you all help him become what his own path dictates and prevent him from falling into despair?"

* * *

Naruto didn't know how long they had knelt there. It may have only been a few minutes or so, but to him, it felt like forever, cuddled into his parents' embrace after so long. He had wished for this, to have even just five seconds with his parents, but he had never held any hopes of it coming true. It was too painful to hold onto such things, and Naruto felt like he didn't need any more pain in his life.

His tears run out, he just sat there in his parents' arms, not wanting to let go, and Minato finally said, "I wish I had never placed this burden on you, Naruto. I wish I had found another way. But I can't take back what has been done. So the most I can do is ensure you have what you need to survive in a world that will hate you."

Minato raised his right hand to the top most drawer and opened it, flipping up the false bottom as he did so. Laying there were four medium scrolls, protected within a hidden seal array to ensure only Naruto ever picked it up. He then gently detached his son from his neck, placing the boy into his mother's lap, and pulled out each scroll and laying them on the floor between them.

He then held up a golden-colored scroll. "Sealed in this scroll is all the money that your kaa-san and I earned and saved over the years, which is more than quite a bit. The night of Kyuubi's attack, we managed to send a few clones to empty out our accounts and bring it here for safe keeping."

Kushina snorted while she gently ran a hand through Naruto's hair. "No doubt the civilian council tried to look for it not even within an hour after Kyuubi was sealed and attempted to claim it for themselves to 'ensure Konoha's economy kept thriving.' Idiots."

Minato chuckled at his wife's vivaciousness, and he held up a blue scroll. Before he could speak, Kushina said, "That, sweetie, contains some of the Uzumaki clan techniques I wanted to start you on when you were older. There are more in the library when you are done with these, but start on these first when you have the chance." Naruto nodded, and Kushina leaned down to kiss the top of the boy's head.

Minato then held up an orange scroll. "After you have trained up a bit, then look into this scroll. It contains the directions you need to attempt my _Hiraishin_ technique. Be warned, though. If you're not careful, you could wind up doing some very serious damage to your body. Best to try and attempt this after you become chuunin at least, okay?" Naruto gulped but nodded again.

Minato smiled and continued, picking up the last scroll, a green scroll. "This last scroll, though, should be easier for you to use. It contains the directions to my _Rasengan_ technique, complete with all my theories on how to improve it. Even if you don't get to them, you should still be able to master the normal one without too much of a problem."

He then picked the scrolls back up and placed them into the drawer again, the false bottom setting back into position seamlessly before another seal flashed red for a second before vanishing. He turned back to this son and said, "Be careful who you show those to, alright, sochi? There are those who would rather take them from you and hoard them for themselves. Above all else, keep those four scrolls safe from harm. None of the other possessions in this house matter more than those."

After Naruto nodded again in understanding, Minato reached out and gently grabbed the boy's shoulders. He smiled brightly as he said, "Remember, Naruto. You are our sochi, and we are proud of you no matter what path in life you choose so long as you give it your best. You come from two very prominent clans, and don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise. You carry a burden that would break most people, but also remember that it can be a gift to those who see it as such."

Naruto smiled brightly and nodded at his father's words. "I will. I swear I'll make you both proud of me."

Kushina chuckled and drew her son tighter to her body. "Oh, sochi."

Minato wrapped the both of them in his arms, stroking Naruto's head a little, as he finished, "You already have."

There was one last flash of light, and Naruto found himself on his knees as light particles floated away from him. He raised a hand to them and shouted, "Wait! Tou-san! Kaa-san! Please don't leave me!"

Minato's disembodied voice floated off the walls. "We've never left you, Naruto, because no matter where we are, we still live in you."

Kushina's voice then followed. "Look to your heart, and you'll always find us there. Even if it is only a feeling, our love for you will never fade, no matter where we are."

With one final whisper in Naruto's ear, the two of them said, "Live, Naruto. Live, and become who you're meant to be."

Naruto sat there on the floor, hoping that their voices would pierce the silence again, but nothing came. He sat there in the empty room, completely alone. Tears began to form in his eyes again, but a smile formed as well. _No. I'm not alone._ He raised a hand to his heart, and he felt it beat with a warmth that wasn't there before. _Tou-san, Kaa-san, I feel you inside me. I promise, I'll continue to make you proud. So don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Because now I know, I'm never alone._

Feeling tired, he slumped up against the desk and dozed off, fresh tears still on his cheeks.

* * *

Sarutobi crossed his arms and replied, "Of course we will, Kiyoshi-san. But what of you?"

Kiyoshi's smile turned a little sad, and he turned to look out the window. "There is no hope for me. I have chosen this path of mine, and I will see it to the end even if I were to lose myself in the darkness."

"But surely-"

"I cannot be here forever, Sarutobi-san. My path will eventually take me elsewhere. Not to also mention my deal with Shinigami-sama. I cannot be the boy's guardian so long as that hangs over my head. Naruto must learn to find his own strength rather than rely on others, and relying on me will only lead him down a path that will destroy him."

He raised his arm and moved the cloth covering it, revealing the tattoo of numbers. He stared at it as he continued, "The most I can do is ensure he has every resource available to him to survive."

Kiyoshi then walked towards the hallway. "Naruto is finished with whatever Minato-san wished to show him. I will find him a room to rest in for a few hours, so the rest of you should find a room of your own as well."

As he disappeared into the darkness, he finished with, "It's going to be a long night."

The room stood there in silence, not quite sure of what to do, and Teuchi finally turned to the Hokage and said, "Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi shook his head and replied, "He's right. I get the feeling that there is still much to do today. The four of you should find some rooms to situate yourselves. I'll go add myself to the seal array to allow me into the compound should the need arise."

He grinned at the rest of them. "Don't worry. As of now, this is probably the safest place within the whole of Konoha. If anything happens tonight, no one trying to cause harm will be able to breach these walls."

* * *

Kiyoshi strode through the halls, sending out a pulse of chakra every now and again. The seals in the house obviously didn't recognize these pulses as a threat, or else Kiyoshi would be paste on the ground no matter how skilled he was. Maybe the compound had taken a form of sentience? Who really knows. All that mattered was Kiyoshi familiarizing himself with the compound and finding Naruto.

He found the boy in Minato's office, still sitting on the floor, and when he opened the door, Naruto didn't even look up, even when Kiyoshi stood in front of him.

The two sat that way in silence for several long moments, until Naruto finally whispered out, "I wish this had never happened. I wish everything could be different."

Kiyoshi let out a small, sad smile and knelt in front of the boy. Naruto raised his head, his tear-stained face staring into the darkness of Kiyoshi's hood, and Kiyoshi rest a hand on top of Naruto's head. He then said gently, "So do many others with heavy burdens to bear, but that isn't always their choice to make. The only choice that you can decide is what to do with the time and power that you've been given." He patted the boy's head and stood straight. "And not everything that happens is what it seems. Sometimes we are surprised by an event that happens, no matter how impossible it may seem to be. Whether or not that event is good or bad is a matter of perception."

Naruto stared at him with a confused look, but Kiyoshi just gestured to the door, a grin on his face. "I believe the others are about to go look around the place. You should join them, as it is your house after all."

Naruto smiled again after a moment and rushed to his feet and out the door. Kiyoshi chuckled for a second before turning serious. As he turned towards the bookcases, several cloaked clones appeared in thin air. "Find every book, scroll, and note you can regarding sealing and study them thoroughly. It's time we got our sealing abilities back to the way they used to be. Hop to it!"

"HAI!" The assembled clones turned to the bookcases or left through the door towards the library. Kiyoshi then turned outside the door and strode down the hallway towards the general area where the anchor seal for the house protections were, intending to add himself so that he may come and go freely without Naruto always having to let him in. As he walked towards it, more and more clones of himself kept appearing, and he finally said, "Go and survey the entire village. Find out everything you can without being spotted. We don't need an uproar so soon after our little display. Find out where that rat Danzo has slunk off to and kill him if you can. I will not risk him attempting something amongst the confusion of today. GO!"

The many figures nodded and shunshined away, and Kiyoshi continued walking. _You and your little conglomerate of murderers and thieves are not getting away from me, Danzo. No matter what you do, you will not be able to run from me._

* * *

Danzo hobbled along at a rather fast pace for someone who had a limp, his mind raging at the events of today. _How dare that brat try to upheave everything I have worked for? Doesn't he realize the implications of what I was trying to accomplish? Once my forces have moved, I'll make sure he rues the day he ever decided to cross me!_

A ROOT soldier appeared next him and said, "Orders, Danzo-sama?"

"Begin moving all of our forces to the various safehouses. Konoha is now too hot for ROOT to operate in for the time being. We will have to wait until Tenshi moves on before trying to reintegrate ourselves back in."

The nin nodded and added, "Is there anything else, sir?"

Danzo thought for a minute before nodding his head. "It's time to send a message to the clans. We will commence 'Operation: Repossession' tonight. Make sure the list of targets is sent out within the next few hours."

The ROOT saluted, responded with a quick "Sir", and shunshined away.

Danzo kept shuffling along and made it to the main training area, which was for once surprisingly empty. Good. The sooner the soldiers move to safer ground, the better. He was just about to head to his office, when a snide, cackling voice echoed off the walls. "Having a little trouble, Danzy?"

Danzo hardly reacted when a figure flashed into the shadows of the room. "Nothing that concerns you. Just a minor setback that can be worked around easily enough."

The figure laughed. "Really? Because it seems like you underestimate Kiyoshi-kun. You've now lit a fire underneath that boy's ass, and he's going to use every bit of his power and cunning to hunt you and your little group down. And he has a lot of both, I assure you. More than you at any rate."

Danzo turned fully towards the shadows and said, "Then how do I take care of him?"

The figure cackled again, and he waved the man off with a shadowy hand. "You don't. I, on the other hand, will. You just worry about your own little plots and get out of here alive."

Danzo considered this for a moment before nodding his head. It wasn't his concern anyway. Let the Tenshi deal with his own problems that kept cropping up, and this particular problem wasn't something the boy could just ignore. He turned back to the doorway and quickly shuffled on through it.

The figure stayed there a little while longer, pondering, "Oh yes, Kiyoshi-kun. I'll take care of you indeed." He then laughed insanely before vanishing away.

* * *

_**S****everal hours later...**_

Kiyoshi sat atop the Hokage Mountain, his legs crossed in front of him and his head resting atop his knees. It was still raining hard, though the cloak prevented the boy from getting drenched. He was just so tired of this shit, but he knew that the next few days were going to be some of the worst. He just wanted to go crawl away somewhere and be alone, but he knew that so much more was waiting to happen. He had to be vigilant in his mission, or else the world was about to become a much darker place.

He heard two pairs of footsteps behind him, but he didn't lift his head. He knew it was them. Cosmos and Chaos had come to see what his next move would be. Either that, or it was another attempt to get him to go home and leave it for someone else.

He was surprised, though, when Cosmos laid a slender hand on his shoulder and whispered, _"Do what you must, Kiyoshi-kun, but remember always that there is help waiting in the wings, no matter how much you wish to prevent others from being dragged in."_

Kiyoshi was silent for a moment before nodding his head, standing up, and staring down at the village before him. He sent a long range pulse and felt several chakra signatures trying to sneak into the homes of the clan heads. _So that's your game, Danzo. Why am I not surprised? The last ditch attempt of a dead man trying to increase his lifespan._

Chaos, his arms crossed in front of him like before, then said with a low rumble, **"What will you do now, boy? Take them down one by one or all at once? Either way, you had best choose soon before they get out of your range."**

Kiyoshi chuckled darkly, and his eyes changed to the _Shinpan no Me_. _**"Nothing is outside my range."**_

He grabbed the cloak and threw it open, revealing him wearing a tight long-sleeved black shirt and some black ninja pants and sandals. He raised the other hand, causing a bow to appear within it and a large quiver of arrows onto his back under the cloak. The bow was unlike any other, as it seemed like it was invisible save for the light blue outline surrounding it, and the arrows were completely black like the night save for the white band on the shaft near the head.

Chaos hummed his approval. **"You never cease with the surprises, do you boy? The ultimate bow of legend, Seitengrate, and the Assassin's Arrows. Only the Artemis Bow and the Sagittarius bow can hope to come close to it's power. I guess you found that within the Hell Fields as well?"**

Kiyoshi chuckled again. _**"Well, you can't honestly expect me to survive using only a sword, do you? Still, it was only pure luck that I happened to find it."**_

Chaos nodded, and said as he disappeared in a flash of fire, **"Well then. Good hunting, boy. You're going to need it."**

Kiyoshi threw a confused glance at Cosmos, who just nodded her head. _"We have felt another presence in the village, but we are unable to pinpoint where or who they are. Be careful, Kiyoshi-kun."_

She then disappeared in a flash of light.

Kiyoshi pondered this for a second before sending out another pulse. The figures were now perfectly positioned for him, and he whisked out an arrow and drew it back on the bow all the way before letting it fly. _Good hunting, indeed..._

* * *

Inoichi was laying there in bed, his mind still going over the events of the day...

_Inoichi walked into the flower shop, his head jumbled from all the excitement of the morning and early afternoon, and he noticed his wife Izumi standing there behind the counter going over some order forms. Her long blond hair swayed as she turned her slightly widened steel-gray eyes onto him. Kami, she was still as beautiful as the day he had first met her, and he wouldn't have been able to bear it if he lost her or Ino._

_ Izumi rushed around the counter, heading straight for him as she said rapidly, "Inoichi-kun, what's been going on? We've been hearing explosions not even two streets away from us all day, and some seal tag within the garden room turned to ash earlier today when Ino and I were assembling that last order-"_

_ Inoichi's own eyes widened considerably as he listened to the last part of her sentence. The boy really did set bombs all over Konoha, and it was only through his own clan's generosity and goodwill that they hadn't gone off. If they hadn't done those acts of kindness, no doubt he would either be dead himself or would have come home to smoking ruins that held the bodies of his wife and child._

_ Quickly, he approached her and held her tight, smashing his lips against hers as he inhaled everything about her. Her scent, her taste, her feel, he took it all in like it was his last. Izumi squealed a little through the kiss before throwing her own arms around him and pulling him closer._

_ They stayed like that for a little bit, before Inoichi pulled back and let the woman breathe. Izumi's cheeks took a more pinkish hue as she stuttered out, "I-Inoichi-kun?"_

_ He just smiled again and drew her close again, gently pressing his lips to hers once more, and they hardly noticed when Ino walked into the room. The said girl giggled a little at the scene before her and said, "Eww, Tou-san and Kaa-san are kissing again!"_

_ Inoichi broke the kiss and grinned at his young daughter. "Oh? Then let's see how you like it, you little scamp!" Ino squealed with laughter as Inoichi swooped in and lifted the girl up into his arms, kissing her all over her little face and head. He then held her close in one arm and drew his slightly confused wife into a three-way embrace. As he held them close, he said, "Hey, let's all have a family night tonight. We'll go and get some take out, and we'll just spend some time together, just the three of us. What do you two say?"_

_ Both females happily assented and went off to get their coats while Inoichi tried to steady his still hammering heart..._

He felt his naked wife cuddle a little closer to him, resting her head atop his chest. After putting Ino to bed, he had lead his wife to their room and proceeded to show her just how much he loved her, much to her screaming delight. Thank Kami they had put silencing seals on the walls, or else he was sure Ino wouldn't have gotten much sleep tonight.

As he drew her a little closer, Izumi opened a sleepy eye at her husband and smiled a little. "My, you are affectionate tonight, Inoichi-koi. What happened today?"

He didn't wish to worry her, but he had always believed it best to let her know what was going on. The one time he tried to hide something serious from her so that she wouldn't worry, she proceeded to try and beat his head in with a frying pan until he told – no doubt something she learned from Yoshino Nara.

So he told her everything. The council meeting, the new laws, Kiyoshi Tenshi and how the boy had caused all the chaos today as a punishment for Konoha's arrogance, and the boy's fight with six ANBU and then Jenova.

By the time, he was done, Izumi was wide awake and staring at him in horror. She hadn't realized how close she and Ino were to death today, and she didn't understand what the voice was talking about the night before – only that she had slept the sleep of angels. After all, she loved that Naruto boy to bits and wished to adopt him as their own, but she never realized that those feelings would one day save her life and Ino's. She didn't know what to feel about Kiyoshi – after all, he had indirectly threatened both her and Ino – but she knew that he was doing this for the right reasons. Konoha had stagnated to the point that they were relying on their past victories to keep their enemies from fighting them. As a ninja, she knew that this was suicide, and if this was what they needed to get the message, then who was she to complain?

She leaned onto one of her arms and cupped the side of Inoichi's face, staring into his eyes with a serious expression. "Are we in any danger, koi? Do you think the boy will leave the clan be? If we are, then we need to take steps to assure him we are no threat."

Inoichi gently grasped her wrist and massaged it a little as he shook his head. "No. If the boy really intended to kill us, he would have done it today when he had us by surprise under the executioner's blade."

Izumi nodded and laid her head back onto his chest, her hand drifting down to rub it as well. "Good. Then-"

Whatever she had been about to say was cut off by a young girl's scream, and Inoichi flew out of his bed with a kunai in hand, clad only in his underwear and screaming, "INO!".

He burst out of the door to the room in time to see a ROOT ANBU standing there with Ino unconscious in his right arm, but before either men could do a thing, Ino was snatched from the ROOT's arms by a dark blur. Another rushed behind him and kicked his legs out from under him, sending the nin to his knees, and held a dagger to his neck. Inoichi noticed the glowing black and white eyes under the hood of the cloak, though the rest of Kiyoshi's face was covered either by the half-mask over his mouth or the shadows of the cowl.

The boy hissed to the ROOT in an etheral voice, _**"Where is your master, scum? Where is Danzo?"**_

The ROOT replied in a monotone voice, "I will never tell."

_**"Then you are useless to me."**_

The boy gripped the man's masked face with his free hand and slashed the dagger deep across the man's neck before releasing him. The man tried to grab his throat to stem the blood, but Kiyoshi then jammed the same dagger into the man's skull, piercing his brain and killing him instantly. The body had barely touched the floor before the boy then grabbed it and rushed into a portal of darkness that faded after he disappeared.

Inoichi stood there for a second, speechless at the briefness of the incident, but he remembered his daughter. Panicking a little, he felt relief when he turned to see her leaning up against the wall still unconscious, and he rushed to her side to check her over. Izumi quickly joined him, holding the sheets from their bed close around her, and they tried to rouse the girl awake. When Ino finally opened her eyes and looked at them, tears began to form in her eyes as she said, "T-Tou-san, Kaa-san-"

Quickly silencing the girl with a hug, Inoichi murmured to her, "It's okay, musume. You're safe now."

Izumi joined the hug, and they sat there in silence as they comforted one another. If one could have seen through the darkness, they would have seen burning fury within the man's green eyes. _Danzo Shimura, I will show you what happens when you cross the Yamanaka Clan._

* * *

Atop the Hokage Mountain, the rain of arrows mixed with the rain of water, piercing through the night itself to strike his targets. Whatever he missed, his clones caught. He watched as one of his arrows shot through a ROOT agent's heart as he was about to climb in through a window in Chouji Akamichi's room, another piercing the forehead of an agent trying to quietly rush out of the Nara compound with Shikamaru Nara, and no less than three apiece taking out their compatriots before they could help in the kidnaps.

Kiyoshi kept rapidly drawing and releasing, drawing and releasing, continuing to unleash his rain of death.

* * *

Tsume was laying on a couple of animal rugs in front of the roaring fireplace in her home's living room, her two children sleeping away by her side. She was wearing nothing but a long T-shirt and some grey-colored short shorts – her normal sleepwear at home – as she gazed at her pups and ran a hend gently through Kiba's hair as he slept on. Kuromaru laid nearby, bonelessly lounging about, though he wasn't asleep.

In fact, the old dog was quite alert, glancing around the room every now and again. He stayed at the compound whenever Tsume went to the council meetings, due to the fact that a few of the civilians were allergic to dogs and demanded that he be left at home. Tsume didn't like it and tried to fight the demand but had to acquiesce to it in the end. So whenever Tsume went to the meetings, Kuromaru stayed behind and put the clan dogs through their paces. After all, he may be one of the oldest of the familiars, but he wasn't dying for a good long time and was damn well going to make sure that the rest of the pups learned from his experiences. Every edge he could give to the other familiars was an extra sliver of chance that could save both the familiar and their human.

He noticed his human's flightiness tonight and frowned. Tsume was never like this. She was the kind of woman that could stand strong against a hoard of ninja and still retain her biting humor even when wounded drastically. Yet tonight, she seemed...clingy would be the best word, almost frightened, and she refused to let her pups out of her sight when she got back. She even practically pleaded – _pleaded_! Pleading was not supposed to even be in Tsume Inuzuka's dictionary! – to her children to sleep beside her tonight. The two children were confused, but they nevertheless were happy to do so, leading to the scene in front of Kuromaru.

The old dog raised his head and said lowly, "What's gotten into you, Tsume? I know you like to show your pups you love them, but today you've practically had them attached to your hip. Whatever happened to the somewhat strict woman who wanted her children to keep growing stronger? To have them learn to fend for themselves?"

Tsume growled a little at her ninken and focused a light glare on Kuromaru. "Maybe because I just wanted a break from being the 'strict kaa-san' and be the 'fun' one today. There's nothing wrong with that, Kuro."

Kuromaru snorted a little. "Not saying there is. It's actually quite good that you wish to spend such time with your pups. I'm more concerned over the abruptness of your change. When you left today, you were your same old self, and yet when you come back, you look as if the wolves are hunting the pack. What happened out there today?"

Tsume was quiet for a few seconds, pulling Hana a little closer to her, and she finally whispered, "Because today I saw the power of a black wolf, and it both terrified and saddened me."

One of Kuromaru's eyebrows raised slightly as his lone eye stared at his companion. The Inuzuka usually regarded the concept of the black wolf as a single person who was strong enough to not require a pack to back him up, a lone warrior who as all bite and no bark. To the Inuzuka, such a concept was ludicrous, as everyone needed someone else to watch their back on the battlefield, and to have the clan head of the Inuzuka frightened of such a being was insanity. "Are you talking of the young boy who fought the ANBU?"

Tsume snorted. "Fought? I wouldn't call what I saw today as 'fighting'. 'Slaughtering' would be a more accurate description. The pup didn't even have a mark on him when he was done."

"The ANBU underestimated him, plain and simple."

Tsume leveled a stare at her closest companion. "He took one out within five seconds by pulling him closer before crushing his body. What was left was a pile of meat impaled on earth spikes. That's not underestimation or luck, Kuro; that's experience. The kid moved fast and hit hard. Hell, he hardly gave them the time to think long enough without them getting desperate, and these were ANBU. If he were older and fighting me, I would be torn between running away from him as hard and as fast as I could or simply prostrating my body before him in submission to accept him as my new Alpha. _That's_ how strong he was."

Okay, now she had Kuromaru's complete attention. This was Tsume Inuzuka, a woman who had scared away her own husband a few years back because of her power and dominating nature, and she was admitting she would have _submitted_ herself to this boy if she fought him? Kuromaru's eye widened, and he said, "You're dead serious, aren't you? This wolf, this Kiyoshi you told me of – he is truly as powerful as you claim?"

"Yes, Kuro, he is, and it terrifies me. He managed to sneak around the entire village, clan compounds included, and place seal tags everywhere. Nobody had any idea they were even there until they detonated. If he had wanted us dead, all he would have needed to do was detonate them all without warning, and about three-fourths of Konoha would now be rubble without him even lifting a finger."

She began to shudder a little in fear, and Kuromaru moved closer to her head, allowing her to rest her head on his side. He gently nuzzled her with his nose and then asked, "And yet?"

Tsume smiled sadly. "And yet, I cannot help but feel like the pup needs a reprieve from his path. I've also seen the depths of his sorrow and hurt, and he suffers a burden that is beyond our comprehension. To make a deal with the Shinigami himself is a decision grown men would falter over, and yet the boy made it when he was six to protect all he loves, even if it means he can never share in their happiness. It's destroying his heart, Kuro, filling him with a hopelessness that is unfathomable, like he's trying to absorb the world's pain and suffering into himself to make everyone else happy while ignoring the fact that he himself is breaking."

Kuromaru chuckled a little and licked her nose. "You may seem so tough, but deep down, you really are an okaa-san at heart, aren't you? Those motherly feelings just can't resist reaching out to a hurt child and trying to smother him with love."

Tsume playfully growled and flicked his ear gently, a small smile on her face as she did so.

Three ROOT then appeared in the room, weapons at the ready as they slowly approached the startled group. The lead said in monotone to his compatriots, "Take both children, kill the clan head."

Kuromaru snarled and leapt to his feet as Tsume whipped out a kunai and growled out, "Don't think that since I'm without my gear, I am helpless. I won't let you near my pups!"

The two children had woken at the elder dog's snarl and were now pushed behind their mother, though Hana was preparing to use a jutsu to back Tsume up.

The ROOT simply shifted to a new stance. "We never expected you to be."

Before the battle could start, however, three more shadows shot out of the darkness towards the three nin. Flashes of light hit the necks of two of them, and their heads rolled onto the floor as their bodies fell. The third shadow grabbed the lead ROOT's head and slammed it onto the ground with his right hand. His left fingers glowed a little as he jammed them into the man's temple and snarled out, _**"Fuin Hakai!" **_

Various seals flashed with a light before disintegrating, and the shadow slammed the ROOT's head again before growling out, _**"You ROOT are testing my patience. WHERE IS YOUR GODDAMN MASTER?"**_

Dazed, the man still replied, "I shall tell you nothing, you traitorous scum. Danzo-sama shall bring in a new era of the shinobi, and you are powerless to stop it."

The clone stood up again and raised the man from the ground to stare directly into his eyes. _**"We shall see."**_

A portal of darkness opened, and the two dismembered bodies were thrown in before the still-alive nin was thrown in after them. The leader clone turned towards the portal, speaking to his fellow clones, _**"Stay within the area and protect the clan. Shimura-teme will not give up that easily. If he cannot get the clan head's children, he may still go for one of the others here."**_

The two clones nodded and jumped back into the shadows while the last walked into the portal as it disappeared.

Tsume stared at where the nin once stood, shocked at the quick and brutal effectiveness of the child's actions. It seemed that Danzo had decided to rebel against the Hokage, and it was time to rally. She hugged her children quickly and whispered to them, "Stay here. Hana, protect Kiba. Do NOT leave the house, understand?"

Both children nodded, and Tsume kissed their foreheads before heading for the stairs, saying to her ninken, "Rouse the other familiars and prepare for battle. This insurrection needs to be dealt with before more damage is caused." Kuromaru nodded and raced out the door, and Tsume slammed a fist onto a seal on the wall, activating an alarm throughout the compound.

She rushed up the stairs to her room and quickly slipped into her uniform, consisting of mesh underarmor, a dark long sleeved shinobi shirt and pants, and a pair of shinobi boots over her taped ankles. After strapping on her kunai holster, weapons pouches and Jounin vest, she rushed back to the front door to see her clan's fighters assembled.

Wasting no time, she barked out, "Half of you, get all the clan children and secure them into my home! Guard them with your lives! The rest will follow me as we hunt down that rat Danzo Shimura! It seems he has decided to incite an insurrection against Hokage-sama while kidnapping children in the village! Let's end this blight to our nation!"

Cheers shouted from the group, and several ROOT nin decided to use this distraction to jump out of cover, tantos at the ready to slaughter the Inuzuka, only for all but one to taken out by a rain of black arrows. The last was intercepted by one of the clones, who grappled the nin in mid-air, slashed his neck, and threw him head first to the ground with enough force to splatter his brains. The clone vanished again as it landed into the shadows, waiting for the next threat to be foolish enough to show itself.

The Inuzuka were stunned, but Tsume just yelled, "The Black Wolf has stationed several of his _Kage Bunshins_ in the village to help secure it! Aid them however you can!"

"HAI!"

"SCATTER!"

The Inuzuka and their ninken jumped to the roofs, disappearing into the rainy night.

* * *

Kiyoshi kept drawing and releasing, drawing and releasing as the water poured down around him. The ROOT were stepping up their game, sending reinforcements to many positions throughout the village. Not that it mattered much. They only served to be more cannon fodder as they fell by arrow and by blade. They were disoriented and confused on how they were being found out, and they had nowhere to run.

He sent another arrow into the skull of a ROOT fighting with Shibi Aburame while his wife hovered nearby young Shino. The clan head hardly blinked before turning to his clansmen and belying orders in a cold tone to gear up and hunt down Danzo. Kiyoshi noticed several Inuzuka already moving across the village, grouped into teams of four as they aided his clones in taking down the robot-like nins.

Kiyoshi kept drawing and releasing, drawing and releasing, his mind focused on these two actions.

* * *

Saiyuri had backed into a corner, Sakura behind her as the four ROOT before her boxed her in. She had no idea what was going on, but she suspected Danzo's hand in it. She was curious as to why the man had sent his personal guard dogs after her and her daughter, but she knew that she was about to find out.

"Saiyuri Hanazuki, otherwise known as the Bloody Lily of Konoha, Danzo-sama demands that you and your daughter aid him in his endeavors, as Hiruzen Sarutobi has failed to uphold his duty as Hokage to Konoha. This order is non-negotiable, and non-compliance will result in your death. Do you understand?"

Saiyuri gritted her teeth and gripped her katana harder. "Go to hell, you lapdogs."

"Kill the woman, take the girl."

Four shadows blurred behind the ROOT, grabbing their heads in unison and slashing their throats before sinking the bodies into pools of darkness. The four clones then nodded their heads to Saiyuri before jumping back into the shadows, continuing to stand watch over mother and daughter.

Saiyuri lowered her katana, though she refused to let go of it until whatever the hell was happening settled down, and she gently led Sakura towards the living room. It seemed a night on the couch was in store for both of them while they weathered this storm.

* * *

Hiashi couldn't sleep that night, which was very rare as his duties as clan head always wore him out enough to sleep like one of the dead. But today's events were keeping his mind active, denying him the rest he felt he deserved after what had happened. The boy's actions were confusing to him, causing him to wonder if Kiyoshi was just downright insane or if there actually some sort of method to the madness. He had the entire village in the palm of his hand and could have crushed it on a whim, but he chose to send a message instead. He was watching all of them, and if he so chose, he could still destroy them without anyone even noticing he was there. It unnerved Hiashi as, while he knew his clan had weaknesses, he still felt pride in the fact that very few enemies could escape the _Byakugan_. Kiyoshi not only broke this delusion, he shattered the pieces under his feet just to show he could.

Ayaka shifted beside him, dreaming if the small smile on her face was any indication, and Hiashi reached over to brush a strand of hair from her face. Her eyes fluttered open from the contact, and she stared at him sleepily for a few seconds as she asked, "What is wrong, koi?"

Hiashi managed a small smile and whispered back, "Nothing, dear. Go back to sleep. You need the rest."

Ayaka smiled again and snuggled a little deeper into the futon, drifting back to sleep in seconds.

Hiashi's smile didn't leave as he laid there and watched his wife. To be honest, their marriage had been arranged by Hiashi's father - the then-clan head, now Hyuuga council member and clan elder Hotohori – when he was but a boy, so Hiashi had never expected them to be more than civil to each other. By the time they were old enough to be wed, Ayaka was rather proficient in the clan techniques and had reached chuunin rank with several B-rank and A-rank missions under her belt. At first, they were unsure of each other, keeping their distance to see what the other might do, but when she opened up to him, Hiashi found a kind and loving warmth within his new wife that he cherished and was even greedy to receive. There was hardly any real love in the Hyuuga compound, aside from that of the parents towards their children (and even that was only fifty-fifty), so Hiashi wanted all the love she could give him. By the time Hinata was born, there was a state of wedded bliss surrounding the two of them that was nearly confusing to behold to the clan elders – something that amused Ayaka to no end.

Not wanting to disturb his wife again, Hiashi slowly eased himself out of the bed and walked out of the sliding doors, closing them gently behind him. Lately, Ayaka had been more tired than before, and Hiashi worried that maybe she needed medical help. The clan elders brushed off his concerns, saying that Hiashi was just being the expectant father of a child about to be born and that Ayaka was fine. Hizashi, on the other hand, noticed as well and often asked Hiashi if maybe they should secretly take Ayaka to the hospital, since the elders had an almost unnatural interest in Ayaka's well-being.

Hiashi frowned, as his brother's words had struck true with Hiashi's own feelings. He knew the clan elders saw his little Hinata as weak since she seemed to have a reluctance to fight, but Hiashi knew that the girl was still trying to deal with nearly being kidnapped. Experiencing something like that at three was no joke, but then those blasted elders actually had to audacity to tell her when she turned five of what her fate would have been if she hadn't been saved. They claimed it was to drive the girl to train harder; all it really did was cause Hinata to retreat further into her shell and have nightmares for over a year.

Hiashi had actually gotten so angry, he had thrown a vase at one of the elders' heads hard enough to send the elderly woman into a coma. He was quite satisfied when he heard she died three days later.

Whatever the case may be, his wife was under enough stress as it was, and Hiashi saw no reason to disturb her with his ramblings, though he swore he was going to have her checked out in the near future. Maybe he could ask Kiyoshi for help? No doubt if he pleaded his case, the boy could check her for anything suspicious or at least guard the room while Hiashi got a qualified doctor to do it. The boy's sense of justice would be very helpful if he ever had to deal with the council interfering.

Hiashi sighed as he sat down on the wooden floor, looking out onto the garden as the rain poured down. Was this the work of Kiyoshi's Goddess? Was Cosmos so sad for her charge that the heavens were crying in her stead? Was it also Kami's sadness?

Hiashi shook his head. No boy should ever have to bear the burden of humanity, no matter how necessary it seems and especially not alone. That Kiyoshi did this willingly was staggering to the Hyuuga head, and he wondered just how much that boy was protecting all of them. Jenova was bad enough, but Hiashi knew that there had to be more out there just like her. Besides, if Jenova had died once and came back, just how many of the boy's past enemies would do the same to take the chance to hunt him down?

_The Hyuuga have begun to stagnate, thankfully not as bad as the Uchiha but bad enough. We need to train. I sense a war coming, and I intend the Hyuuga clan to survive. I'd best mention this to other heads as well. Konoha has always stood strong as a unit working together, and I know several of the others will agree with me._

Hiahi's musings were cut off when he heard a shrill scream down the hall, and Hiashi's eyes widened where it was coming from. _Hinata's room! No! Not again!_

He shot to his feet as two dark figures jumped square into the garden, a bundle in each of their arms. They didn't seem to notice Hiashi there, who set upon in a flash and had nearly Jyuuken-ed one of the men's brains out, but his attack was blocked. Still, it gave Hizashi enough time to block their exit, his face a vicious snarl as he screamed out, "Give us back Neji and Hinata-sama! NOW!"

The ROOT just answered back in a calm, robotic tone, "You may wish to call off your brother, Hiashi-sama. Look behind you."

Hiashi activated his _Byakugan_ to see a third ROOT standing in the doorway to his bedroom with a hand over Ayaka's mouth and a kunai at her neck. Tears were trailing down Ayaka's cheeks as her soft cries muffled through the fabric of the man's glove, her hands tied behind her back.

Hiashi cursed the position he was in, as either way he chose, he still lost someone dear to him. He was quick enough to get to Ayaka, but Hizashi wouldn't be able to stop both men without losing one of the children. At the same time, if he Jyuuken-ed both men and saved the children, the third ROOT would slit Ayaka's throat, killing her and possibly her unborn child.

The standstill continued for a few minutes, as Hiashi tried to make his painful choice. Several of the Hyuuga had now entered the area, but upon assessing the situation, they were prevented from taking any action, lest the clan head's wife be killed. Suddenly, a poof of smoke enveloped Ayaka and the ROOT, and when it cleared, the ROOT was holding a black-cloaked figure with glowing black-and-white eyes. Before the ROOT even had time to think, the clone slammed a hand into the man's gut, growling out, _**"Break!"**_ causing the area hit to turn to stone and quickly spread over the man's body. In place of the ROOT now stood a stone statue that looked exactly like the man, and a large steel warhammer flashed into the clone's hands. With a yell from the clone, the hammer swung at the statue's head, and the entire figure crumbled to dust at the clone's feet.

Everyone know focused on the disturbance, two more blurs shot out of the darkness to snatch Neji and Hinata away, towards Ayaka who was now unbound and sitting safely away, while the third jumped over Hiashi to slam the two stunned ROOT nins' heads together, their heavily cracked masks falling away, before the clone screamed out, _**"FUIN HAKAI!"**_ The seals evaporated from the men, and the two nin were then thrown into the wall, cracks appearing where the two bodies collided with the stone. The clone raised a hand, and four clawed hands of darkness shot from underneath the boy's cloak and pinned the two men to the wall. Snarling, the boy yelled, _**"I WILL GIVE YOU ONE CHANCE TO ANSWER ME BEFORE I FRY YOUR LITTLE MINDS! WHERE IS DANZO?"**_

One of the nin snorted and said, "We shall never tell _you_, demon scum."

Said man was viciously ripped from the wall and pulled towards the child, the shadowy arms wrapping around him into a tight embrace. The clone raised a hand and placed two fingers against the man's forehead. A small burst of lightning arced over the digits before traveling from those fingers straight into the man's brain. It wasn't enough to kill him or really cause that much damage, but it did cause an unholy amount of pain within the victim's body, as could be witnessed by the man's screaming and thrashing within the shadowy grasp. The Hyuuga's sat there stunned into silence as the nin alternated between sobbing, pleading, and cursing the child before him. The child just held his fingers in place, watching with an impassive face at his victim and listening with uncaring ears.

This continued for a little bit, impressing Kiyoshi with the absolute resilience to pain this man was showing, but even the ROOT proved that he was a mere human when his mind just couldn't handle the pain anymore and forced him to pass out. As the man slumped bonelessly within the shadow's grasp, Kiyoshi turned his uncaring eyes to the other and said, _**"Tell me what I want to know, or else I will do the same to you. Continue to resist, and I will heal and revive you both before continuing the cycle again and again, until the only thing on your mind is how to die as quickly as you can."**_

The remaining ROOT looked to his comrade and shuddered at the possibility of the same done to him. Compared to that, death didn't look that bad. He swallowed loudly and said, "D-Danzo-sama has various entrances around the village. Those were how we have been able to sneak around the village so easily without getting caught by the regular ANBU. Each of the entrances eventually leads to our main base underneath Konoha."

The man shook his head quickly as he said, "The problem is, you might not find Danzo-sama even if you manage to get there, as he plans on leaving the village tonight to an unspecified safehouse out of the hundreds we have scattered across the Elemental Nations. If he manages to escape, he could go anywhere from Suna to Kumo to even Iwa, though my best guess is he would go to Amegakure."

_**"Ame? Why there?"**_

"Danzo knows the leader there, one Hanzo the Salamander, as they have coordinated several missions together and trust each other to an extent. If Danzo manages to get to Hanzo, it will be no easy feat killing him, even for you."

Kiyoshi darkly chuckled as he said, _**"We shall see about that. Now..."**_

The shadows wrapped around the man and slowly pulled him from the wall towards the boy. When the two were eye-to-eye, Kiyoshi flipped on an earpiece and said, _**"Tell me where the base entrances are."**_

One look into the boy's eyes was all the nin needed to start talking.

* * *

Mikoto was currently resting on the couch in her home's living room, as she didn't want to be around Fugaku at the moment, because: A) he was still being a little crybaby bitch about that boy "laying his dirty hands upon an Uchiha and daring to wound him"; and B) her own mind was still reeling from all that happened today, including the boy's words to her.

Honestly, she felt it served Fugaku right that he got hurt. Once again, he let his arrogance about the so-called "greatness of the Uchiha Elite" get the better of him and now he whined because someone actually smacked him down. Compared to what had happened today, Fugaku was lucky to get away with a couple of wounds that would heal up within the next week or so. Since she got tired of listening to his bitching after an hour or so, and also because she was still angry that he struck her the other night, she decided to leave him to it and just sleep on the couch.

Still, sleep continued to elude her, as Kiyoshi's words kept ringing in her head. Being called a traitor was the worst for her, because it was true. She had essentially betrayed Kushina that night, and nothing she did was ever going to make that right. Even now, it was too late, because she chose to ignore Naruto and his problems rather than be the good friend she was supposed to be. Even if she decided to try and help the boy now, she knew that Kushina was still glaring down at her from the heavens and cursing her for being so callous. The worst part was if their positions had been reversed, Kushina would have sprung to help Itachi and Sasuke the first chance she got

Fresh tears sprung from Mikoto's eyelids as she buried herself deeper into the couch. _Kushina, please forgive me. Please don't hate me. I'm so sorry..._

Suddenly, something hard dropped on the floor down the hall, and Mikoto frowned as she got up. _Is Fugaku stumbling around over there? It's not like he's drunk or anything. Maybe something in Sasuke's room fell to the ground._ Sighing a little, she walked down the wooden hallway quietly so as to prevent Fugaku from hearing her. Last thing she needed was to set him off on another tirade.

She didn't know where Itachi was. He mentioned something about the Hokage needing him and his squad tonight, but he wouldn't say more than that. The distrust in the boy's eyes was unnerving, like he was aware that she knew of Fugaku's plotting. It wouldn't have surprised her if he did know. She just hoped that the Hokage would be able to prevent anything from getting out of hand.

She turned the corner to see a dead nin laying on the floor, Sasuke's unconscious body nearby, and a dark cloaked figure standing over the man. She froze when she saw him and didn't even respond when Fugaku walked up behind her and said, "Mikoto, what was that noi-?" He saw the black and white eyes underneath the hood, and he snarled, "YOU! What the hell are you doing in MY home?"

If the boy was perturbed, he certainly didn't show it, as he almost lazily turned his gaze towards the irate man. His tone, however, was rather harsh when his ethereal voice said, _**"That's TWO you **__**now owe me, Uchiha. Not only have I spared you from my retribution, I saved your sochi from **__**Danzo's clutches. Be warned, Clan Head. Do NOT test my patience, lest there be one less clan for **__**the world to deal with."**_

A portal of darkness opened behind the boy, and he grabbed the bleeding body and stepped backwards into it. As the portal closed, his gaze flickered to Mikoto before he said, _**"REMEMBER MY MESSAGE!"**_

The two adults stared at where the boy had disappeared, but then Mikoto remembered Sasuke still laying there and went to check on him. There wasn't any damage to him, so Mikoto assumed that the nin had used a knockout of some sort to ensure he stayed asleep.

As she picked him up and took him to his room, Fugaku followed her, muttering under his breath, "Blast that little brat! Now he dares to enter into our compound. What next? Will he start demanding we house and feed him while he kills more of our clan?"

Mikoto tucked Sasuke in and kissed his forehead, but something that Fugaku said started to nag at her memory. Why _did_ the boy only kill part of the clan? Why not all of them? Granted, there were some who weren't for the rebellion, but-

Mikoto's head shot up. That was it.

She slowly turned to Fugaku and said quietly, "He knows."

Fugaku interrupted his rant to fix a confused gaze on his wife. "What? Who knows what?"

Mikoto was starting to turn a little pale, but she continued on, "The ones in our clan that the boy killed – they were all staunch supporters of the Clan Rebellion. The ones who survived were either those who were unsure of such a move or outright refused to partake in it. He didn't destroy the clan houses or hunt us down in the street. Instead, he orchestrated everything so that the ones still in the police headquarters when they blew were the ones who would be the most problematic for him."

Fugaku was starting to pale at the implications, but it really hit home when Mikoto said, "Fugaku, Kiyoshi Tenshi knows that you're planning a rebellion, and the deaths within our clan today were a warning that he's watching you."

As the man started to sputter and deny how the boy could have known such a thing, Mikoto glanced back to her son, and her gaze hardened. She turned and walked back towards their bedroom determinedly. Upon arriving there, she began to suit up into her uniform, thinking, _You dare to kidnap MY child, Danzo? Well then, let me show you a mother's wrath when you try to hurt HER BABY!_

* * *

Sarutobi was standing in the ANBU conference chamber, decked out completely in his shinobi regalia, as the ANBU loyal to the aged Hokage stood at attention, ready to move at the slightest command. The numbers were fairly good, even after Kiyoshi's little intervention...

_Sarutobi gazed upon the assembled ANBU before him. How many of them were in Danzo's pocket? How many were unwilling slaves or knowledgeable traitors? Kiyoshi assured him that his eyes would be able to tell him which ones and that he would take care of the problem. All Sarutobi needed to do was get them all in one fixed location, and the young Tenshi would do the rest._

_ Sarutobi opened his mouth to speak, causing all the nin to stand at attention, and he asked, "Is everyone present and accounted for?"_

_ Dog stepped forward and saluted. "Hokage-sama, aside from the six who defied your orders today, all are here."_

_ Sarutobi nodded his head and leaned forward. "Good. Now, I suppose it is now time to tell you why I called you here."_

_ With a single hand-sweep over a seal, the room sealed itself, preventing anyone from leaving in any way. Underneath nine of the eighty ANBU present, portals of darkness formed, and large shadowy hands shot up to grab them and drag the men and one woman down into the abyss. It happened so fast that they barely had time to scream before the darkness took them._

_ Weapons were drawn by some of the nin as they scanned the room for a threat, but Hiruzen simply waved his hand again, commanding them to stand down. The moment he did so, Kiyoshi rose from a darkness pool to Hiruzen's left, and he smirked at the boy. "Were those the only ones?"_

_ Kiyoshi returned the smirk and crossed his arms. "You doubt my abilities? Either Danzo didn't think he needed more than a few, or he was too afraid to send in more for fear of being caught. In any case, those were the only ones within the ANBU forces. The rest of Konoha's regular nin are a different story, though."_

_ Sarutobi laughed, and Weasel stepped forward and asked, "Hokage-sama, what is going on?"_

_ Sarutobi turned his gaze to Itachi, the mirth gone as he returned to his serious mood. "It seems that Danzo has been plotting an insurrection within Konoha for quite some time now, and he has planted quite a few of his ROOT nin within various aspects of Konoha's infrastructure, including the ANBU. Kiyoshi-san and I planned out a way to draw out the traitors within the ANBU, and now that it has been purged of all loose ends, it is time we took care of our 'pest' problem."_

_ Kiyoshi turned his gaze to the other nin and spoke calmly, "I know that Shimura will not stick around after the events of today. Some of my attacks earlier were aimed at those who aided him, as I hoped to incite him to open rebellion so that I may kill him once and for all. Unfortunately, I did not account for him to go to ground, as he distracted me by sacrificing six of his nin."_

_ Sarutobi glanced at Kiyoshi again. "What of Koharu and Homura?"_

_ A grimace appeared on the boy's face. "While Koharu has willingly turned over all information she has gathered regarding Danzo and is now currently within protective custody with her family, Danzo managed to quietly sneak Homura out of the village before I could find him. Why Danzo didn't go with him, I do not know, but I can confirm Danzo Shimura is still within the village."_

_ The boy's eyes hardened a little as he continued, "However, I don't think he will just vanish into the night. Shimura's method is to have several plans in place in case of such an event, and I have a feeling he will strike tonight, either to catch me off guard or to send a message or maybe just out of downright vanity. I don't know his reasons, but rest assured, tonight will be bloody."_

_ Sarutobi then stood and steeled his gaze as he barked out, "As of now, all ANBU are to be on standby here at the base. Eat, get some rest, or just get your downtime in now, because no one will be sleeping tonight. Kiyoshi-san has already stationed several of his Kage Bunshins around the village, so they will be watching it in case Danzo strikes early. Report in at eleven P.M. for your assignments, and then we will wait for Kiyoshi-san's signal. DISMISSED!"_

Sarutobi had chosen to return home and hopefully spend a little time with his family, as he knew that if confronted, Danzo would still prove to be formidable. His daughter-in-law was expecting soon, and he hoped he would live long enough to see the child grow into a strong individual. He had suggested the name Konohamaru if it was a boy, because he had a feeling that surely the child would grow to be one of the inheritors of the Will of Fire.

Asuma seemed to have picked up on his father's uneasiness, but when he questioned him about it, Hiruzen had simply said to watch out for anything suspicious and keep close to the family. Confused, Asuma nevertheless agreed and let the matter drop, though he made sure he replenished his supplies before night fell.

Before leaving, Hiruzen had stopped at his wife's grave and said a few silent prayers for her soul. He wondered what she would have said regarding this whole matter – probably would have smacked him around the head for letting things get this far and told him to suck it up and fix the problem before making some comment about how a woman Hokage would have made sure to clean house. Hiruzen smirked. That was certainly Biwako's way, always blunt and to the point while making sure that everyone knew women truly were a force to be dealt with. Still, they loved each other deeply, and Hiruzen simply took his wife's eccentricities and accepted them as a part of her.

_You would have been right, Biwako-chan. I chose to let complacency rule me, because I just couldn't deal. I felt so old without you, and I forgot what you would have wanted. Forgive me, s__aiai no hito__*, for a foolish man's mistakes, and help me as I try to fix what I've done._

Now he was sitting in front of the radio transmitter, waiting for the signal Kiyoshi would send. They had agreed that ANBU would remain on stand-by until Kiyoshi found a ROOT who would talk. Upon doing so, he would flip on his communicator on a secure channel and relay the nin's info back to ANBU. Sarutobi and his forces would then secure the exits to the base, hopefully trapping Danzo within and allowing Sarutobi to take him into custody.

The transmitter crackled to life, and Kiyoshi's words filtered through, _**"Tell me where the base entrances are."**_

Hiruzen motioned his troops to attention, and the captured nin's words sound out over the small speakers, _"The main entrance that is primarily used is the one near the base of the Hokage Mountain, but others are located in various shops that have supported Danzo, though all those entrances were destroyed earlier today when you set off the explosive tags. The tunnels collapsed when they went off, so most of the routes into the village have been cut off. There is another entrance nearby the Uchiha compound, as it was the only clan that we could get close to without their bloodline detecting us while still maintaining a strategic position. Aside from that, there are entrance grates behind key shops that are used, which is how the ROOT tonight have been able to move about. The rest of the useable exits are all located outside the village's walls, halfway between each checkpoint. Danzo-sama would wait to move his troops through those, as your disruptions earlier today had put the wall guards on alert. But now that you have moved to intercept him, he will no doubt abandon all plans of discretion and tell his troops to leave now, no matter who sees them."_

There was a pause, and then Kiyoshi's voice filtered through once more_, "__**Which of the entrances would be the quickest route to where I'll find Danzo-teme?"**_

_ "The Hokage Mountain entrance."_

Sarutobi looked to a holographic map of the town Kiyoshi had provided and watched as the points of interest were marked upon it. In all, there were about fifteen current entrances into the bases, enough for four men to secure. Hopefully, Kiyoshi would have thinned the numbers quite a bit, so there might not be many ROOT left to capture, though Hiruzen wasn't going to get his hopes up.

* * *

The clone in the Hyuuga compound continued staring into the man's eyes, ensuring that the man kept talking until there was nothing left. When the nin finally reached his limit, Kiyoshi nodded and opened a portal of darkness before saying, _**"You will be held in an ANBU cell until the Hokage gets around to formally charging you. Pray to the Gods he will be more merciful than I would have been."**_ Before the man could even speak, both he and his compatriot were thrown through, and the portal disappeared.

The clone turned around and gazed upon everyone present. His eyes didn't stay long on any one person until they reached one of the Hyuuga elders. Staring into the old man's eyes, he saw his heart, oozing darkness down to its very core, and Kiyoshi repressed a snarl of disgust.

Before anyone could move, Kiyoshi's shadow hand shot forward and dragged the man before him, raising him up to stare into the boy's eyes. The man tried to sneer at him but seemed to temporarily lose his voice when gazing into the eyes of Death.

Kiyoshi calmly stated, _**"You let them in, didn't you? You ordered all the Hyuuga guards to leave their **__**Byakugan**__** off so that the ROOT would take the heirs."**_

The man's mouth opened to speak, but Kiyoshi backhanded him, silencing him. _**"You are a traitor to your country and your clan. Now..."**_

Kiyoshi raised a hand and clenched his fist. _**"Die."**_

Another shadow hand shot forward into the man's chest, ripping out his heart and crushing it. The man's body fell to the ground, but Kiyoshi simply shot a fireball at it before turning around, burning it to ashes as he grunted, _**"Worthless old rat."**_

The clone then promptly disappeared, leaving a shocked Hyuuga household.

Hiashi soon regained his composure and turned to Hizashi. "Organize our forces. We will aid the Hokage however we can. Gather all the clan children into the main dojo and post half of the guards around them in case that blasted Danzo decides to try again. Hopefully, that boy has more clones around here to aid us should we need it."

One of the elder's seemed to have recovered her voice and was now waving her cane at the Hyuuga head. "Now see here, boy. None of the Hyuuga will do any such thing. What matters now is securing our compound from all outside forces. That demon child just murdered an esteemed elder and we will not aid him in-"

Hiashi flashed before the old woman and jammed a pair of fingers on her forehead, causing the woman's brains to explode out the back of her head. He then yelled at everyone present, "_I_ am the Hyuuga Clan Head. _I_ lead this clan, _MY_ orders are all that matter, and _I_ say we will aid that boy and the Hokage get rid of this vermin that infects our village. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

The Hyuuga warriors saluted and yelled back, "HAI!"

"Gear up and meet in the main courtyard!"

The Hyuuga scrambled back to their rooms, and Hiashi turned to his family. Ayaka was holding Hinata, murmuring into the terrified girl's ear and stroking her head. Neji was standing nearby his mother Akiko, and Hiashi went straight to her. "Akiko, stay nearby Ayaka and Hinata until this is over. I don't trust the Elders to not pull something while Hizashi and I are gone."

Akiko nodded her head, and Hiashi then turned to his wife and child. He knelt down and gently took Hinata into his arms, hugging her as he said, "Don't worry, musume. No one's going to take you away again. It will be alright. I promise."

Hinata lifted her head and nodded before flashing a shy yet watery smile at her father. Hiashi chuckled and kissed her head before handing her back to her mother. He then leaned forward and kissed Ayaka, whispering in her ear, "Be safe, love. I couldn't bear it if you died."

Ayaka gently swatted his arm and admonished, "Stop worrying so much. Go and meet your warriors before the battle ends without you."

Hiashi smiled a little and vanished into his room, thinking, _How many times am I going to owe your clan, Kiyoshi Tenshi?_

* * *

The original Kiyoshi finally stopped his shooting and held the bow lazily in his left hand. Several of the ROOT nin were now hesitant to leave their lairs, and he focused on the entrance on the ground several feet below him, which, oddly enough, hadn't produced a single ROOT all night. It was curious, but then again, Danzo would have wanted the main entrance to be left discrete.

He raised a hand to his communicator and said over the secure line, _**"This is a command priority one. Hokage-san, your ANBU forces hereby have the green light. I repeat, Operation: Spade is green. All clans, aid the ANBU however you can in securing their positions."**_

* * *

Sarutobi nodded his head and turned to his troops. "You have been given your teams and orders! Capture if you can, but deadly force is authorized! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

* * *

Inoichi stood amongst a conglomerate of Yamanaka, Akamichi and Nara fighters. His best friends and teammates Chouza and Shikaku stood by his side, both looking rather pissed at the old man's audacity in trying to kidnap their children.

As soon as Kiyoshi's orders filtered through their headsets, Inoichi bellowed, "You heard the kid! SCATTER!"

* * *

Tsume's _Gatsūga_ tore through another ROOT before she landed and snarled at the body. Kuromaru tore through the man's partner and landed nearby her as he said, "Their numbers are thinning down. Hopefully there won't be many of their forces left when this is over."

Kiyoshi's voice filtered through her earpiece, and Tsume grinned ferally as she switched to the channel the Inuzuka were using. "Inuzuka Clan, the Black Wolf has spoken. You are ordered to follow the ANBU and assist." Several voices barked their assent.

As she jumped onto the rooftops, she heard a soft voice say through the rain, "All Aburame, split into groups and get to the entrances. The kikaichu will be more beneficial in closed quarters."

Tsume turned her head to see Shibi run up alongside her and ask, "Mind if I join you?"

She barked a laugh and said, "The more, the merrier! Now let's go hunt us some ROOT!"

"Agreed," twin voices said.

Hiashi and Hizashi jumped down alongside them, both decked out in battle robes, and kept running near the two.

Before Tsume could say anything, a ROOT appeared before them that was quickly beheaded by a flashing katana, and Mikoto shunshined nearby and joined their group, saying quickly as her _Sharingan_ flared to life, "The rest of the clan heads are heading for the entrance near Hokage Mountain. Hokage-sama and a few of his ANBU are nearing there as well, but no one knows where Tenshi-san is. He may have already gone inside."

Tsume laughed again as she yelled, "Well then, we need to catch up, don't we? LET'S GET TO THAT ENTRANCE!"

* * *

Kiyoshi watched as the clans rallied to his orders and sped towards the exits. Just in time, too, as Danzo must have ordered his ROOT to begin their extraction out of the village. It was with an almost sadistic pleasure that he watched the man's forces be taken out mere seconds of clearing the exits, and soon the ROOT were being pushed back into the corridors. He noticed the clan heads beginning to converge towards this point, each of them ready for blood.

Now, it was time for Kiyoshi to get directly involved.

He stepped off of the mountain, entering into a free-fall towards the entrance below him and stunning the clan heads as they got closer. Focusing his magic, he shot a rain of _Firaga_ spells down towards the heavy door, blowing a giant hole into the ground and revealing the passage below. He flipped and slammed into the ground on his feet, a golden clock-face glowing underneath him as _Haste_ was cast. Some of the ROOT had come to check on the disturbance and hopefully stop the intruders from gaining access, but Kiyoshi was on them with a blur of speed. The nin barely had time to think as the boy practically danced between their blades and struck them in various vital areas, putting them down for good.

As the last nin fell, Kiyoshi sensed the clan heads enter the corridor behind him, and he turned to them long enough to yell, "Follow this corridor! It's a straight shot to the main area from here!"

Not even bothering to see them nod, he sped on ahead of them, continuing to move like a blur as he felled any ROOT stupid enough to get in his way. What was nagging Kiyoshi was that there were too few ninja trying to defend the main area. Either his repeated blows against them earlier had dwindled their numbers down to near nothing like he hoped, or...

Let's just say that he really hoped it was the former, because the latter was going to be too difficult to handle properly.

Finally, he noticed a large, almost arena-like area open up before him in the next room, and he stopped at the railing to observe...nothing. It was an empty room that could have held at least a couple hundred soldiers on the main area below. He jumped down and started running for the center, his _Haste_ spell running out as he kept circling around and wishing that what he was looking at was an illusion.

But it wasn't. Danzo had gotten away.

"SHIT!" Kiyoshi slammed his fists into the ground, cracking it, and he screamed in fury. _I should have gone after the bastard the moment I started setting off those tags, but my own vanity and contempt held me back. DAMN IT!_

A piercing crazed laugh reverberated off the walls, and Kiyoshi's eyes widened as he stopped his pounding. _I know that laugh..._

Kiyoshi quickly turned to the forming shadows and threw a shuriken at it, only for one of the shadows to swat it away like an irritating fly. Out of that shadow stepped a tanned man with long silver hair pulled up into a ponytail, blue fighter's pants held up by a yellow sash, and his feet were wrapped in yellow tape. On his wrists were red wristbands that had long red tails trailing down towards the ground.

Kiyoshi got onto his feet and slipped into a fighting position as he growled out, "Vargas..."

Said man simply smirked as the other shadow began to melt away, revealing a clown that was similar to the one Kiyoshi's clone had imitated earlier in the day, dressed in a combination of red and yellow fabrics with a mixed with both polka dots and stripes while his face was covered with white paint and purple lipstick on his crazed smile.

Kiyoshi didn't move from his stance, but his growl this time would have scared the Kyuubi. "Kefka Palazzo..."

The clown mockingly put a hand over his heart and said, "Oh, Kiyoshi-kun. Such hate when you mention my name. It almost saddens me." He looked back at the boy with narrowed eyes. "'Almost' being the key word here."

Kiyoshi just said in a cold tone, "Where is Shimura-teme?"

Kefka waved a hand flippantly before scratching the inside of his ear. "Who knows, who cares. Probably gone off to one of his little hidey-holes to lick the wounds on his pride. Doesn't really matter, to be honest."

By now, the Hokage and clan heads had reached the room, looking like they were about ready to jump down and help, but Kiyoshi simply yelled, "Go after Danzo! The rat escaped down the main tunnel in the confusion! I'll handle these two!"

Hiashi raised a hand towards Kiyoshi. "But we can help yo-"

Kiyoshi turned his gaze to them as his eyes flashed into _Manadoraibu_. "I'LL BE FINE! GO!"

As Kiyoshi turned his head, Vargas smiled in triumph, and he started running quickly towards the young warrior, screaming, "Fool! Never turn your head in battle!"

He only got about halfway there before Kiyoshi bolted past the tanned man, and the two froze after they passed, Kiyoshi now crouching on the ground with T-Murasame in his hands. It was silent for a few seconds before Vargas screamed, the deadly slash nearly cutting him in half and spewing out globs of inky darkness. His whole body then exploded into black smoke, which flew to the tattoo on Kiyoshi's arm.

He stood and looked back to the group. "GO! BEFORE THE RAT GETS AWAY!"

They nodded, jumped down to the main floor, and headed for the exit on the opposite side of the room as Kiyoshi turned his attention to the clown, who looked surprisingly apathetic to the turn of events as he hovered on his side above the ground with his hand holding his head up. He raised an eyebrow. "Not going to stop them? Or retaliate for killing the has-been?"

Kefka looked at him with a seemingly lazy look, though his smile seemed more crazy than before. "Why? Killing insects is no fun, and Vargas was a fool to challenge you head-on without using the full extent of his power – not that he was all that strong to begin with. In fact, watching you cut down the tanned knucklehead simply got my blood boiling with excitement for more."

Kiyoshi snorted and started to pace in front of the man. "You never change. Out of all the others, you are one of the few who stay with your path. I would be surprised, but considering who I'm speaking to, I just can't bring myself to care all that much."

Kefka hopped onto his feet and pranced around as the two began to circle each other. He took a moment to stick his rear at the boy and shake it a little, saying, "Awww, where's the love, Kiyoshi-kun? Don't forget that I made you into one of the most powerful beings in existence at one point in time, thanks to my wonderful experiments."

Kiyoshi paused his pacing to grab his head, the aged memories beating inside his skull. He heard his own cries of pain as the clown before him filled his body with magicite, overpowering him with the souls and transformed bodies of fallen Espers. The cackling laughs echoed again and again as the clown watched the boy destroy everything before him, turning him into a husk without feeling or emotions. He had become a weapon for the Gestahlian Empire, meant to fulfill the desires of madmen.

Kefka's smile turned malicious as he flashed next to the boy and said into his ear, "Ah, yes. Those were the good old days, you following my orders and aiding in the destruction we caused. How many lives died by your hand in that Saga alone? Hundreds? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? All of them, now gone because of you. Add in the fact that there were other Sagas that happened just like it, and your hands are forever bloodied, no matter what skin your soul slips into."

Kiyoshi felt the flames of the burning buildings lick at his body, enveloping him with searing hatred and pain of the victims. There was gunfire, bullets whizzing past his head from the other side as they ran with fear. Screams rent the air around him as he butchered man, woman and child simply because they were in his path. The smell of iron surrounded him as the blood mixed with the flames.

Kefka laughed suddenly and pranced away from the boy, turning his back to him and finally saying, "Though I must admit, the best part was whenever I came to collect you in each of those Sagas, dear Terra-chan would always try to keep you away from us. To this day, I still have no idea how she managed to overcome the Slave Crown she wore, but every time, it was the same. It was...exhilarating to hear her cries and pleas, only for them to be in vain."

As Kefka laughed again, Kiyoshi froze as another memory slammed into him...

* * *

_A woman was sitting in a sparse room filled with only the barest necessities. A medium-sized bed big enough to just barely be comfortable for two people was near the top-left corner of the room, a dresser at the foot of it filled with only a few sets of clothing. A small bookshelf was at the head, containing books on magic theory, Esper mythology, battle strategies, and so on. The walls were gray, and the floor had a simple white rug that was starting to stain from the repeated walking on it._

_ In the middle of the room sat a cheap armchair, the woman inside of it. She was young, only about eighteen, wearing a sleeveless short red dress with floral patterns, flowered white tights, two long red gloves, red boots and a purple-pink cloak with the same flowered design as her tights. Her long, wavy blond hair was pulled into a ponytail, and on her forehead sat a simple band with a small crystal in the middle. Her blue eyes had a blank look, and if one looked into them, they would have wondered if she was really alive. She moved very little, except to stroke the hair of the four year-old blond boy in her lap who looked somewhat similar to her. These motions were not mechanic, as some would believe; in fact, they were gentle and kind, and whenever the woman looked at the boy, her eyes had a small light within them that showed her undying love for her child. The two said little, because they neither needed nor wanted words, and instead kept physical contact in some way such as right now._

_ The boy was starting to drift to sleep from his mother's ministrations, and the woman gently wrapped her free arm around him, pulling him closer to her. But then the doors slid open, and in walked Kefka, his maniacal smile ever present, along with five guards, disrupting the comforting atmosphere. The clown approached the woman and raised his hand to the woman. "My dear Terra, visiting time is over. It's time for the child's sessions to resume."_

_ Terra's eyes widened as she looked at the group, and she shot to her feet and pushed the boy behind her, snarling as magic formed into her hands. The guards proved too fast for her, though, as one of them rushed forward and slammed the butt of his rifle into her stomach. Gasping from the blow, she fell to her knees but still managed to shoot a fireball at the man, ending his life in ash._

_ The other guards raised their rifles to open fire, but Kefka just raised his hand again to call them off before snapping his fingers at the woman and saying, "Silence."_

_ Whatever Terra's next spell was died on her fingertips, and two of the guards rushed forward to hit her a few times before dragging her onto her feet away from the child, who was moving away from the crazed man. As Kefka grabbed the boy by the arm, Terra struggled against the two grips holding her and reached out a hand, screaming out, "No! Leave him alone!"_

_ Kefka stopped heading for the door and raised his eyebrow in amusement at the woman. "Oh? Managed to break through the Slave Crown, have you? Well, it means it's time for another upgrade then." He tugged the boy towards the door, pulling him away from reaching his mother, saying, "Come along, boy. Lots of things to blow up today."_

_ The child continued to struggle against the clown's grasp, trying to get to his frantic mother, and reached out towards her, his terrified voice screaming, "MOMMY! MOMMY, HELP ME!"_

_ Terra's hand inched closer to her son's as she dragged the two guards little by little towards him, but Kefka yanked the boy out of her grasp, laughing as he did so._

_ Terra broke from the two guards and tried to lunge for Kefka, but they managed to grab her before she got close enough. As they pulled her back, she yelled, "No! Give him back! GIVE ME BACK MY SON!"_

_ Kefka had reached the door and was now dragging the boy through it. The child took one last look at his mother to see tears running down her young cheeks as she continued to struggle to reach him.  
_

_Before the metal door shut, he heard Terra scream, "KIYOSHI! GIVE ME BACK KIYOSHI!"_

* * *

Kefka's laughing was cut off by a roaring behind him, and he felt something collide with his back and send him flying towards the wall. The structure cracked from the impact, and Kefka managed to turn his head enough to see an enraged Kiyoshi, his eyes glowing white from the sheer power.

Kefka barked out another laugh and said, "Oh? Was it something I-" His face was slammed into the wall, cutting off whatever he meant to say. For extra measure, Kiyoshi repeated this action another three times before grabbing the dazed clown by the neck and raising him from the wall.

As the clown struggled to breathe, Kiyoshi, rage dripping from his voice, screamed, "You made Kaa-chan cry! I'm going to KILL YOU!"

He threw the man into the opposite wall across the room, cracking that wall as well before flashing over and grabbing the man by the leg. He smashed the man into the floor before raising him up and smashing him on the other side, and he kept swinging back and forth, roaring with rage.

He then threw the man back to the middle of the room, only to shunshin into place to slam a knee into Kefka's back. Kefka let out another grunt of pain, and Kiyoshi grabbed him by the neck and lower back, lifting the man above his head, before filling his legs with chakra and magic.

Roaring again, he launched the two of them towards the ceiling of the room...

* * *

Sarutobi cursed as he surveyed the area outside the exit. The trail was starting to turn cold in this rain, and Danzo could have had a number of contingencies planned in case he was followed. Hopefully, the small ANBU contingent he sent towards Ame before this whole mess began would be able to intercept him, though Sarutobi warned them that if it looked too dangerous, they were ordered to pull back from the border and return to Konoha. It's not like the Hokage had ANBU to spare for wild goose chases. No, Sarutobi knew Danzo, and the slippery old bastard would be back sometime in the near future. It was almost guaranteed.

He turned to Tsume and Shibi, who were both using their respective skills to find a trace. "Found anything?"

Shibi straightened and shook his head at the old man. "The rain is making it hard for my kikaichu to move effectively, but they have found no fresh traces of Danzo's chakra on the ground. It's possible that he didn't use this path to escape."

When Hiruzen glanced at her, Tsume turned her attention to her ninken. "Got anything, Kuro? I've got faint traces, but nothing concrete."

Said dog sniffed on the ground in a few places before saying, "Shimura definitely came this way. He's left enough of a trail to determine that, but the rain has eroded most of the scent away. I'd have to say that he probably left through this tunnel no more than two hours ago. Whatever his intentions were regarding the Clans' children, they either weren't important enough for him to risk sticking around, or he was overconfident that his nin would succeed. In either case, it's a dead end at this point."

Their musings were cut short when they heard a loud explosion of earth emanate from the village. Everyone's eyes widened before sprinting towards the source of the noise.

* * *

The ground splintered and cracked before exploding upwards, two figures soaring through the air from the newly created hole. Kiyoshi tightened his grip on Kefka before throwing him down towards the unforgiving earth. The force of the impact created a new crater, and Kefka actually groaned in pain as he limply lay there on the ground.

As the rest of the ninja began to show up to see what the noise was, Kiyoshi landed on the ground and stomped over towards the crater, screaming, "GET UP! I WANT TO WATCH THE LIFE LEAVE YOUR EYES AS I STRANGLE IT OUT!"

Reaching the crater, he reached down and grabbed the clown before throwing him out of the crater several feet away. The man lay still for a minute, but he soon slowly got to his feet. As he turned to the boy, his manic smile kept growing and growing, until he finally let loose a loud laugh. Kefka laughed and laughed, piercing the night sky with his madness, before making a flourish at the boy and screaming out, "Yes! YES! Feel that wonderful rage fill you! Let it unleash the destruction of all existence!"

He then quickly raised a hand at Kiyoshi, and a large chunk of ice shot out of it towards the boy before breaking into a large number of smaller ice chunks. Most of the ice hit Kiyoshi like a shotgun blast, blowing him back quite a few feet, and Kefka teleported in front of him, his hand raised again to fire another blast.

To his surprise, a black blur shot out of the boy's shoulder and clamped onto the clown's wrist, crushing the bones while preventing him from using it again. Kefka grunted in pain before sneering again. "So, Fenrir, finally decided to get off your furry ass and help?"

The wolf growled in response, teeth still clamped around the fleshy cylinder called Kefka's arm, but Kefka just laughed. "I actually would have thought that the Gods didn't really give a shit regarding their chosen warriors at this point, but for that bitch Cosmos to actually send her little lapdog to aid the child of our destruction? That's just too funny!"

Another growl tore through the air, and Kiyoshi got to his feet with a snarl on his face. He wiped away the blood running from his mouth with the back of his hand, and he started to walk back towards the deranged clown. "Don't you dare disrespect Cosmos-dono, you fucking waste of space! Just because you broke your vows to the Gods – unsurprisingly – doesn't give you the right-"

Kefka smacked the wolf just hard enough to let go of his arm, and Fenrir just backed up towards Kiyoshi, his hackles raised and displaying several sharp white teeth as he growled at the clown.

Kefka ignored the wolf and said, "As if I would have continued to follow that worthless Demon God and his cheap whore! Even back during the original conflict – before you even existed – she was worthless, never actually standing next to her warriors as they fought her battles for her. The only thing she is good for now is spreading her legs for-"

A blurred fist slammed into the side of Kefka's face, sending the man flying and crashing into the side of a building before a whip of light wrapped around him and threw him back out into the open. Kiyoshi then roared, "Enough of your vile tongue! Kefka Palazzo, I CHALLENGE YOU!"

Thunderpeals resounded from the sky, and the dark clouds separated once again and revealed the two Gods on all their splendor. They slowly made their way down to their thrones as the spirits of the past formed onto the rooftops again and the barrier formed over the area. Chaos' face was one of pure fury as he turned his glowing red gaze at his former servant, while Cosmos' scowl would have been reserved for someone who had been dipped in dog shit and then dared to approach her. The looks on the rest of the spirits' faces were either indifferent to the whole thing or matched their Gods'.

After the two sat, Cosmos hissed out, _"As if you could have understood my intentions at the time, you wretched clown. The reason I didn't fight on the side of my warriors is because I always had faith in their strengths and abilities."_ A twisted smile appeared on her lips. _"As was proven when dearest Terra defeated you and caused your own body to explode from the overcharge of her power. Chaos, on the other hand, wouldn't have trusted you to lick his feet even with your arms and legs cut off."_

Kefka didn't appear to hear her, as he kept starting at the waist of her dress, the crazed smile never leaving. When Cosmos was finished speaking, he simply said in a sing-song tone, "I'm just a bit curious, Cosmos. Do you wear any underwear under that dress? It just fits your shape so perfectly and doesn't appear to have anything between it and your skin."

Cosmos' eyes widened with indignation, and she snarled before snapping her fingers, sending several large thunderbolts to strike closely in the area Kefka stood. She turned her head to Kiyoshi and yelled, _"Kiyoshi-kun! Fight him with allies or fight him alone – I don't care which, but I want that clown's head ON A DAMN PLATTER!"_

Kiyoshi cracked his neck and replied, "Understood, my Goddess. _Manadoraibu_!" His eyes glowed blue, and he dropped into a stance. "Commencing battle!"

Cosmos screamed, _"READYYYYY!"_

Chaos yelled, **"FIGHT!"**

Kiyoshi rushed towards the smoking area that Kefka was supposed to be standing, but then he heard another cackling laugh and Kefka's voice say, "EX Mode: Power of Destruction - ACTIVATE!"

A figure shot out of the smoke, and only the fact that the being's face looked like Kefka's made it possible to claim it was him. Instead of mismatched clothes on his paste-white skin, they were all gone in favor of a red loincloth that trailed to his feet. His white skin was now completely purple, his eyes all yellow, and springing out of his back were four wings. Two of them resembled white angel's wings, while the other two were white and black demon's wings.

Kiyoshi's eyes widened and had already begun his dodge when Kefka yelled "_Havoc Wing!_", causing his four wings to shoot forward in order to impale the boy. Before he was even four seconds on the ground, Kiyoshi wound up dodging once more as Kefka then screamed, "_Hyperdrive!_" and managed to move to the side as several fiery explosions passed by him.

Thankfully, in his haste to get to the young warrior, Kefka had forgotten about the one ally that Kiyoshi had who was within the barrier. As Kefka turned his back to follow the boy, Fenrir took this as his chance to at least wound if not kill the mad clown. He leapt onto Kefka's back and sank his teeth into one of the angel wings before pulling with all his might. Kefka, startled by the attack, screamed as he felt skin, bone, tendon, and sinew all snap and tear from the wolf's exertions. Angered, Kefka reached back and grabbed the wolf by the neck, the creature still holding onto the detached wing in its jaws, and threw it far away from him.

Fenrir's head collided with the barrier, and, while the barrier stood strong, the wolf fell to unconsciousness.

Kefka ignored the wound for now and focused back onto the boy nearby, who was starting to make another charge, and a ring of light formed around Kefka's feet before he thrust a hand towards the boy and yelled, "_Forsaken Null!_"

Kiyoshi's eyes widened as two portals of light formed, one on the ground and the other in the air above him, and he started running and dodging in every direction he could as the portals shot out balls of black-and-white energy that exploded after a few seconds. He knew that if even one connected with him, it would let Kefka use his EX Burst attack, _Warring Triad_. If Kefka got that chance, then Kiyoshi was as good as dead.

Another ball of energy struck the ground right beside him, and he managed to dodge in the nick of time before it exploded. He looked up again to see the last ball come towards him.

* * *

The explosion was biggest one yet, and it filled Kefka with a certain satisfaction. This was what he lived for, to see everything burn to ashes. He actually hoped that the boy managed to dodge that last strike, just to see what else he could blow up.

The smoke from the last explosion cleared, and a small form lay curled on the ground, completely still. Kiyoshi's eyes were closed, and it seemed like he wasn't breathing. His clothes were torn, the black cloak completely disintegrated and the shirt still clinging on by a few pieces, and he was burned and scratched in several places. It seemed that last blast had been more than enough.

Kefka heard a faint scream coming from the roofs, and his gaze turned slightly to see Terra fallen onto her knees and reaching a hand towards the boy, pleading with him to get up. He glanced around to see several of the other females in somewhat similar states, ranging from standing there in horrified silence to desperately pleading with the child to be alive, and he watched the boy's body to see if it would do anything. After all, he wouldn't bear to hear his kaa-chans' cries, and he would make some sort of involuntary movement towards them before catching himself.

But the body did no such thing, and it continued to lay there limply.

Kiyoshi Tenshi was no more.

It seemed the same conclusion hit the others as well, as Terra let out a wail and started sobbing out, "It's my fault. It's all my fault." Some of the other spirits had moved to console her, while others looked mutinous, as if they didn't care about the precepts and wanted to move down there to rip him apart.

The pain and sorrow of them all filled Kefka with energy, and he laughed as he approached the child. He kicked the body, just to make sure, and the spirits gave an outcry at his treatment. He ignored their cries and said to the corpse, "And so ends the prolonged existence of a fool. How does it feel to know that everything you worked for, after so many eons of struggling, was for nothing? How does it feel to see your own destiny cut short in the most unexpected manner? It was always futile, boy, because you made the mistake of fighting a GOD!" He then let loose another laugh, a long laugh that seemed to cut through the night and tell everyone, 'All hope is lost.'

He felt a hand painfully clench his ankle, cutting him off suddenly, and he looked down to see the boy's body look up at him with an evil smile and ask, "Who are you calling a fool, you fool?"

Shocked, Kefka couldn't move in time as the boy moved like a blur, launching off of the ground and latching onto him before yelling, "_BAKU!_"

There was a flash of light and fire, and Kefka's own burned body came flying out and tumbling across the ground, though he was still alive. He kept rolling until he felt his body had hit a brick wall and dislocate his right shoulder. He cried out in pain at the contact, and he forced his eyes open to see...

Nothing. There was nothing there.

A new laugh rang through the area, and Kiyoshi's voice said, "You truly are an idiot, you dimwitted clown. You don't even bother to change up your own style, and your arrogance towards your perceived victories is so easy to exploit, it's boring. You don't even consider that I've picked up new techniques and strategies..."

The seemingly empty air shimmered and fell to reveal the same boy standing there, with nary a scratch on him and his foot pressing down onto Kefka's shoulder. He pushed his foot down into the bone, making Kefka cry out in pain again, and continued, "And that is why you are going to die here tonight."

The boy's eyes, still white from all the power coursing through him, were cruel and unforgiving, and the twisted smile on his face meant that he was going to enjoy whatever happened next. Kefka actually trembled when Kiyoshi softly said, "You made Kaa-chan cry again. Make sure you scream reeeeaaaallly loud."

He kicked the demonic being and sent him flying before saying, "EX Mode: Trance of the Esper – ACTIVATE!"

A flash of white light covered him, and where Kiyoshi stood now stood a creature that appeared to almost be half human, half lion. It stood on two legs and looked human, but instead of skin and black clothes, there was short silver fur covering the entire body, with long hair that almost looked like a type of mane on the head. On its hand and feet were golden-yellow claws, and when the creature smiled, its canine teeth had become elongated and _sharp_.**

Kiyoshi let out a bestial roar and launched himself towards the clown again, not even giving him time to react as the boy dug his claws into the man's bare chest and actually spun around, swinging the false god around and around, before Kiyoshi threw him back to the ground.

The impact created another crater, and Kefka barely got to his feet before Kiyoshi pointed his hand and said, "_FLOOD!_"

Kefka's head snapped up as the rain began to form a huge geyser of crushing water underneath him that shot up. The first one he managed to dodge.

The second one impacted with his chest and sent him flying again.

Getting a little desperate as he felt the last bit of his EX run out, Kefka pointed both hands to the boy and screamed, "_TRINE!_" Three white razor-like triangles formed and shot towards the boy, and when the boy dodged, another three formed around him again. Kiyoshi simply smirked and vanished before they could strike.

Kefka tried looking all over for the boy, until a fist collided with his face from behind and sent him back to the ground. He struggled out of the impact crater and looked up to see Kiyoshi floating down to the ground with his arms crossed. The boy hovered slightly a few inches from the earth, and he slowly glided over towards the clown as Kefka's EX finally ended with another flash of light, leaving behind Kefka's normal but broken form.

Kefka sneered at the boy's satisfied smile. "Don't act so self-righteous, boy. Don't forget that you are just as guilty as I am when it comes to killing and causing others pain. In fact, you're _worse_ than me. How many different Sagas have you lived where you knowingly ruined everyone's lives? Caused the world's destruction? Killed entire families just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time? Feh. You're nothing more than a monster in human skin."

The clown struggled to his feet as he continued, "I, on the other hand, I could have made you great. I _did_ make you great. I made you into a _god_! One unlike any other! And you tossed that all away. You gave it all up, and for what? The chance to be human? The chance to have hopes and dreams? The chance to feel something more? What use are those like us?"

Kefka stood fully to his feet, but his gaze seemed distant as he lifted his head slightly to the sky. "Why create, when it will only be destroyed? Why cling to life, knowing that you have to die? None of it will have meant anything once you do! There is no meaning to anything, because the whole world's going bye-bye! You included! Life...dreams...hope...where do they come from, and where do they go?" His gaze snapped back to Kiyoshi, and the sneer returned as he charged up some black lightning, yelling, "None of that junk is enough to fill your hearts! Destruction...Destruction is what makes life worth living!"

He thrust his hands towards the esper-like child and screamed, "_Dark Thundaga_!"

As the bolts of dark thunder shot towards the boy, Kiyoshi simply shook his head and vanished into the air. Kefka looked all over for him, but Kiyoshi's voice just resonated off the walls again. "You will never understand, Kefka. All you have ever known is pain and misery, either your own or from others. If I am a monster, I'd rather be a monster with a heart than a god without a soul."

Kefka then heard behind him, "_Tornado!_"

He turned to see the boy floating there, and three funnels of cutting wind formed and circled around Kiyoshi, drawing Kefka in and buffeting him repeatedly before forming a larger tornado that began both crushing and cutting. But, instead of ending after that, the tornado just broke off again into three and continued the assault. Kefka actually began screaming in pain again when the large tornado reformed and began smashing his bones to dust.

Just when Kefka thought it was over, Kiyoshi just smirked and whispered into Kefka's ear as a _Holy_ spell rammed into his back, "_EX Burst: Neo Riot Blade_!"

All Konoha shinobi watched in awe as the very barrier between dimensions shattered, plunging the area inside the barrier into a vortex of stars and wind. Kefka seemed to be helpless within the vortex as he floated along on the wind, while Kiyoshi, his eyes closed seemed to be charging a large amount of both chakra and magic within himself. As his power swelled to its limits, Kiyoshi's eyes opened, and he smirked as he shot towards the helpless clown, his claws at the ready.

Kiyoshi slashed Kefka once, then hit the wall of the vortex to spring back and hit again. He continued to do this, moving like a silver blur and using the vortex as a springboard to send him straight towards his opponent, slashing Kefka whenever he drew near. He hit about eight times before jumping away from the clown and slashing in front of himself with both arms in an X shape, sending four blades of energy from his claws that slashed the clown repeatedly before exploding.

Just as it had shattered, the barriers righted themselves once more, bringing the area back to normal. As Kefka's body fell to the ground, he choked out, "Inconceivable..."

He hit the ground hard, but this time he did not get back up, as close to death as he was. Kiyoshi just glided down to the ground and ran a clawed hand through his hair, saying, "Woooo! That was a rush!"

He looked back to the choking clown, and the Cerberus gun appeared in his hands before he turned towards him. When he reached Kefka, he stood there and stared at the pitiful man for five seconds before leveling the gun between his eyes. He then said, "Before I claim that vile thing you call a soul, I have one last thing to say."

A small smile appeared on his lips as his eyes narrowed, the _Shinpan no Me_ forming instantly. _**"I've always hated you, Kefka Palazzo. Of all my enemies, you are one of the few that I actually wanted to erase from all existance, and now, I'm going to see this dream realized. Goodbye, Kefka, once and for all."**_

_BANG!_

The three bullets hit the man in the head, causing the head to explode into black mist that soon absorbed the rest of the body and flew into the boy's tattoo. Kiyoshi was about to turn and head back towards the Gods' thrones, but a light started glowing where Kefka's body once laid. White light began to form in the air and was soon joined by fire and darkness, molding and shaping into something ovular. Eventually, they all faded away to reveal a red and black crystal, the black color shaped like flames running down the oval sides.

His EX mode fading away, Kiyoshi stared at the crystal for a few seconds with shock. Nothing had ever happened like this before. He was soon snapped out of his stupor by both Cosmos's and Chaos's voices saying, _**"The threats of the Sixth Saga have been eliminated. With the destruction of these threats, the balance of light and darkness may once more return to that part of the Cycle. Take the Crystal, as it is a sign of your accomplishment."**_

Kiyoshi nodded his head and raised a hand to the item, and the crystal floated into his open palm before vanishing.

He glanced around at the various spirits still on the roofs, but when his eyes fell on Terra, he smiled at her, as his words from eons past came back to him.

'_Everything's going to be alright. You won't have to cry anymore, Kaa-chan. I swear I'll find a way to destroy him. So, please, don't cry anymore, because I'm always sad when you're not happy.'_

Terra seemed to remember those same words as well, because one of the biggest smiles began to form on her face while tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks. She then giggled a little, which then soon became a laugh. Her laughing kept becoming more joyous, and she launched herself from the roof towards him, her arms open wide as she glided towards Kiyoshi. She nearly bowled him over, wrapping her arms around his small body and peppering his face with light kisses before holding him closer to her.

Suddenly, Kiyoshi didn't feel like he was in Konoha in the rain, tired out of his mind and fearful of what would happen in the next few days. The Elemental Nations, the Jade Emperor, Jinchuuriki, councils – none of that mattered now and seemed so far away. He only felt the warmth of the embrace, the gentle nature of love pouring into his body, as this woman he once called and still calls mother gently played with his hair and whispered assurances into his ear.

Cosmos showed a small but happy smile while Chaos just gave a fanged smirk, and the two of them turned and vanished. As the spirits followed suit, Terra whispered in Kiyoshi's ear, "Remember, dearest child. We all live in you, so don't forget that you are never alone."

With those final words, Terra Branford vanished, leaving Kiyoshi standing there in the village square.

Kiyoshi glanced down to the tattoo, now displaying "713" with its dark ink, and he shook his head. _Sorry, Kaa-san, but where I'm going, no one else can follow. This is the only way to give you all peace, and it is best that I do it alone._

Sarutobi, along with the clan heads, cautiously approached the boy, wanting to give him some time in case this turned out like the last time, but Kiyoshi just darkly chuckled. "No need to act like I'm going to break down any second, Hokage-san. Unlike Jenova-kaa-san, Kefka was a plague that needed to be exterminated. I feel no remorse for putting down a mad dog – no offense, Inuzuka-san."

Tsume just smirked and shook her head, and Sarutobi asked, "What do we do now?"

Kiyoshi walked over to where Fenrir was laying and started to rouse him as he said, "I'll have some spies in Ame look into Danzo's presence there. Do the same with Jiraiya-san when you send your message. Have him send the word to his network to keep an eye out for any unusual activity pertaining to ROOT. As for here, for now, go home and get some sleep. My clones will dispose of the bodies and keep watch as the ANBU recover. Over the course of the next few weeks, have all of them watch the regular shinobi forces for anything out of the ordinary. Securing the village against the traitors is more important than some low-rank mission. As of now, all ANBU are take only S-rank or higher missions. Leave the A-rank and below to the jounin, or my clones if you're unsure of the loyalty of your forces."

Everyone nodded and head off to their respective destinations, speaking into their communicators to relay new orders, while Kiyoshi turned back to the wolf and resumed healing him. After a few seconds of doing this, Fenrir's eyes cracked open, and a toothy grin appeared. "I'm guessing that since I'm actually waking up in front of you, then you got rid of Kefka."

Kiyoshi simply nodded his head, and Fenrir struggled back onto his paws. "Sorry I couldn't have been more help to you, boy."

Kiyoshi just shook his head and grinned. "Don't worry about it. Your distraction was enough to give me a few extra seconds to formulate a plan. Without them, we _would_ be dead." The wolf chuckled and Kiyoshi continued, "Get some rest, Fenrir-sama. We're far from being done here."

The wolf nodded his head and flew back into Kiyoshi's tattoo, before Kiyoshi shunshined to the top of Hokage Mountain. He gazed down upon the village, wondering just how many of them slept through the night as the shadow battle had happened right over their heads.

He snorted in derision at the civilians and pulled out a satellite phone. While many would have thought this as some type of futuristic invention, it was actually old tech, its blueprints preserved over the course of generations, and the satellites overhead had been there for many years. It was actually amazing that the damn things worked without having to repair them constantly, but they seemed to go into stasis whenever a Saga ended for some strange reason and didn't reactivate until someone on the planet gave the command. Thankfully, his _sobo,***_ Lucrecia, had activated these devices when she was child many years ago, allowing for his clan's secret technology to be used once more.

He flipped the phone open and punched a speed dial before lifting it to his ear. The other side rang three times before a sleepy voice answered, _"Kiyoshi-kun? What's wrong? Why are you calling so early in the morning?"_

"Kaa-san, I need you to take care of a few things for me."

There was some rustling on the other side before Cloud replied, _"Go ahead."_

"That bastard Danzo has managed to escape before I could eliminate him. However, I thankfully managed to get a lead of where he might go. I need you to have some of our contacts in Ame keep an eye out for him. At the rate he managed to get away from here, he'll reach the borders the day after tomorrow at the earliest if he doesn't try and take a detour."

_"And if the contacts manage to find him?"_

"Have Tou-san apprehend him and secure him. I'll take care of him when I'm finished with my business here."

_"How much longer might that be, Kiyoshi? The Prince is getting anxious for you to return. It seems a few things have cropped up that he needs you to take care of."_

"I'll call him soon. Something's about ready to happen here, and I need to be present when it happens."

_"Such as?"_

"Jenova-kaa-san came back and tried to kill me."

_"We know, sochi. Your sobo was watching when she appeared and summoned us right away."_

"And what of Kefka and Vargas? They appeared here as well."

There was a pause, as no doubt Cloud's eyes were widening at this revelation, and then Sephiroth's cool voice said, _"I trust you eliminated them?"_

Kiyoshi smirked. "Hello, Tou-san. I'm guessing Kaa-san put this on speaker, then? Yes, they're gone for good, and the Sixth Crystal has been secured."

_"Good. What is this event you're speaking of?"_

"While I would have suspected Jenova-kaa-san to come here to exact revenge, Kefka's and Vargas' presences don't add up. They appeared to be aiding Danzo, as they were waiting within ROOT headquarters when I showed up. No doubt I was a surprise for them to see, meaning they didn't become aware of me until today when I tried to move against Danzo."

_"Meaning they were there for something else. Have you ascertained what exactly?"_

Kiyoshi ran a hand through his wet hair and sighed. "They weren't exactly forthcoming as to their purpose when I fought them. However, Danzo had an almost unnatural interest in trying to obtain the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki for himself, though whether or not Kefka put him up to it is still in question. Still, it's a start, as well as a high possibility."

_"It's just as well that the other Jinchuuriki are secure. Hopefully this will draw anyone else out, as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is the only untrained one left."_

Kiyoshi closed his eyes and shook his head. "I hope so, Tou-san. I really hope so. Speaking of Naruto, it's time to deliver the packages, and soon."

Cloud's voice re-entered the conversation. _"Are you sure? You know of-"_

"I'll ask the Prince to lend us the Highwind. All that matters that they are here in five days, by the end of the week."

_"Why then?"_

Kiyoshi chuckled. "You'll see. Call it trying to sow a little chaos amongst the more ignorant masses in this dust-hole."

Cloud sighed, but Kiyoshi sensed that his father was smirking in approval of his actions. Still, it was her who said, _"Just be safe, sochi, and try not to bite off more than you can chew."_

"No promises there."

Now her tone had become more forceful. _ "I mean it, Kiyoshi. The first sign of something going wrong, grab Uzumaki and run."_

Kiyoshi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'll keep it in mind. Good night Kaa-san, Tou-san."

He ended the call and punched another number on the speed dial. The other side only rang once before a younger voice answered, _"Nice of you to finally call, Kiyoshi."_

"Rufus-sama, you're up late."

_"It's just Rufus to you, Kiyoshi. You know that. Gods, you're the best friend I have ever had, and the last thing I need mucking that up is formality. Anyway, I just happened to be up. What's the situation?"_

"Honestly? The old goat of a Daimyo here is an idiot and doesn't take the time to even leave his palace, while his sochi is too busy making plots of world domination to be of any use. The Daimyo's mago**** though, will be a good ruler when he ascends. I'm thinking of killing the sochi to pave the way to that end."

_"Agreed. You have permission to make that happen. What of the shinobi side?"_

"The Hokage is an honest man and willing to work with me, and the Shinobi Council is on his side. Most of the Civilian Council has been eliminated in some manner and hopefully won't have much of a chance to get back any form of power. Danzo got away, but I've got my family's network working on where he's run off to. However, I've got this feeling he'll be back pretty soon. The man's pride won't allow him to take my blows laying down."

_"Sounds good. What else did you call me for?"_

"A favor."

The young prince chuckled. _"Ah, I finally get a chance to repay some debts to you. What do you need?"_

"I need you to lend me the Highwind. There are some certain packages in my clan's home that I need delivered here in five days. It's important I get them by then."

_"Why five days?"_

"Just an odd feeling I'm getting, and it's an opportunity to sow some chaos."

Another chuckle. _"Just how bored are you in that place?"_

"Very. The only real excitement I've had is having some of the dead coming back to kill me."

_"Really? You'll have to tell me about that when you make your full report upon return. As for the __Highwind__, sure. I'll make the arrangements in the morning."_

"Have Highwind land outside of the city far enough so that the locals don't see the tech. No need for them to attempt to seize it."

"_All right. I'll make sure Cid knows. Good night, Kiyoshi."_

"Good night, Rufus."

Kiyoshi flipped the phone shut and turned back to the village. The last few days had been trying, and until the end of the week, he was going to have to keep his guard up in case there were any more unexpected _surprises_. His rage and sorrow of the last twenty-four hours began to build inside, and he started to find it hard to breathe. He had to get it all out, or else he was going to break down again.

So he raised his head towards the heavens and screamed as lightning crashed towards the earth. He screamed and screamed, until his throat was hoarse, and the lightning kept crashing down every time he did it. Finally, he seemed to run out of breath and stood there panting as the skies seemed to quiet.

_I just want to rest. For once, just please let me rest._

Kiyoshi screamed once more, and lightning crashed down.

* * *

*_s__aiai no hito _- roughly translated, "my darling"

**In other words, he looks like a silver, male Terra in her esper form for those of you having trouble picturing this.

***Sobo – grandmother

****mago - grandson

_**A/N: I know, I know, some of you are still saying I focus too much on Kiyoshi, but I promise, the next chapter is going to be more of Naruto. I just couldn't leave it like that, especially since Kiyoshi was supposed to be targeting Danzo. This chapter allowed me to wrap some things up and get moving on with the story. Also, I know that some of this is getting confusing, like why Kiyoshi keeps referring to a lot of people as Kaa-san and what not when Cloud is supposed to be his mother (shut up, yaoi fans, Cloud's female in this story). Again, just wait for a few more chapters. It'll be explained by then. I just need a little more patience from everyone. As far as the weapons and stuff that people are wondering about, check out the Final Fantasy Wikia. That's were I've been finding most of the info that I'm not sure about. **_

_**Also, for anyone who's interested, I've started to post story challenges for Naruto fics on both my profile and my forum "Triforce Guardian's Naruto Story Challenges". If anyone needs a quick story idea, check either one out and let me know you're interested (since I like reading what other people come up with).**_

_**I hope everyone's still enjoying the story so far, and hopefully I'll post a few more times before the summer's over. As always, reviews are welcome, while flamers will be ignored. Thanks!**_


	8. Chapter 8

A screen was the only thing giving off any light in the dark room, the images on it flickering as the occupants in the room watched with mild interest. Anyone watching the screen would have been surprised, as it showed a battle between what seemed to be a small beast and a demon of sorts. But nothing surprised them anymore. They had seen too much and done too much.

Finally, the images began to wind down, showing the beast using a gun to kill the beaten demon-clown on the ground before turning back into a young boy. The images then faded, as there was nothing left after this they needed to see. They sat in silence for a while, until one of them rumbled in his deep voice, "I trust we were able to ascertain the boy's level of skill and power before the images were cut?"

Another voice, this one female, said, "Yes. As of now, the sensors show he is somewhere about level seven out of a hundred. He's learned some of this 'Jutsu' that the natives seem so fond of, but it only appears to be a few techniques."

A third voice, a deep male but not as deep as the first, asked curiously, "How so?"

"Looking at his battle with Kefka, he relied on jutsu of any type only about three or four times - one to create that copy of himself, the second to teleport out of there, and the third to make himself disappear from sight. The fourth time depends on whether or not the technique the clone used to explode was a separate one or built into the clone itself. In short, he either doesn't know more than those few because he doesn't need to, or he knows others but doesn't find any use for them in comparison to magic."

A muttered _hmph_, and then a fourth voice snidely said, "Well, at least the boy hasn't gone completely native to this rotten world. He'd be no use to us if he did."

The third voice then said, "Still, one thing bothers me. Kefka should have been strong enough to take the boy out if he was only at level seven. Kefka, on the other hand, should have been around level thirty. So how did the boy take him out?"

A fifth voice, this one female also, sneered, "_Please_. It's not that impossible for the runt to kill him. He may have only been at a fourth of Kefka's power, but everyone else up to this point is underestimating the boy and going in there without proper intel. They just assume that since he's nine, he's weak, but we all know that age has nothing to do with power. If a warrior at level one hundred just stands still and doesn't make the attempt to fight back, even a level one snot-nosed brat can defeat him."

The first voice then finally said, "Indeed. When the time comes, we'll go in there assured that we will win. As of now, the boy is inconsequential, as there's nothing there to give him a proper fight. He'll gain no experience fighting those wretches unless he fights their leader or higher-level warriors, and his own code of honor prevents him from doing that unless they break the rules first. When we find him again, we will crush him. Agreed?"

A chorus of voices rang out, showing that there were more than just the six there, saying their agreement.

* * *

The sun's rays filtered through the shades on the windows and shone down on the young boy sleeping in the bed. They tickled the whisker marks on his cheeks, and his eyes slowly opened. At first, he was confused about where he was, but then the events of yesterday filtered through his mind and Naruto smiled as he remembered.

He was _home._

He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes before glancing around. The room was sparsely decorated, only having a bed, a small empty toy chest, two dressers, and a crib in the corner, and the whole room was painted a baby blue with a white rug. The golden nameplate on the door had proudly displayed, 'Naruto', showing who the room had been intended for. Naruto didn't understand why the bed was in here – probably so his mother or father could sleep here on nights he became restless – but it made sense about how bare the room was. After all, they probably would have only bought toys and such when he was finally born so that they would have a better idea of what to buy. No sense in wasting money on things he'd have no interest in the first place.

He stretched a little and stepped onto the floor, the new carpet still retaining its fluffiness due to not being used at all, before heading for the door. As he stepped out into the hall, closing the door gently behind him, he looked down the hall to see if anyone was up. There was no one else, so Naruto assumed that he had probably awoken early. Shrugging a little, he decided to head to the kitchens and see if there was anything to make for breakfast.

When he walked into the kitchens, he was happy to see Teuchi and Ayame up and already making the morning meal. They both turned when they heard the boy and gave him easy smiles. Ayame then handed him a plate laden with food, chirping out, "Morning, Naruto! Sleep well?"

Naruto nodded, taking the plate over to the table and sitting himself quickly to dig in. "Yep! Tou-san and Kaa-san had put in a new bed when they decorated my room way back, so it felt pretty comfy. I'm hoping to go someplace today and buy some clothes to fill the dressers, since what I'm wearing right now is all I have for the moment."

Both Ichirakus mentally raised their hackles at the thought of clothing stores not letting the boy buy proper clothing, but they hid it well, and Teuchi chuckled before patting the boy on the head. "I'm sure Ayame would love to go with you and help you decide what to get."

Naruto stared at the man in a confused manner. "But, Teuchi-san, what about the ramen stand?"

"It'll be fine leaving it closed for a few days," Ayame said as she sat down with her own plate. "Watching over you right now is more important as you get settled in. We'll have plenty of opportunities in the near future to make back any cash we lose. Besides, the Hokage told us that he would cover at least the daily costs of running the stand for the time we spend here from the village funds, so no worries."

Naruto felt a little guilty that they were spending so much of their time having to watch over him, though he was glad that they were getting something out of it. But as he was about to say something, a short but loud scream of terror sounded through the manor, coming from Kiyoshi's room.

* * *

_He stood upon the clifftop and gazed upon the crystal pillar that held the floating sphere in place. How long had it been since their sacrifice? How long had it been since those bastards scorned his family and their friends for the choices they made? They had saved the world, damn it! His mother had fought for them all so that humanity could have a second chance, and those bastards repaid her with blood!_

_ "No more," he whispered, his fists clenching with rage. "No more mercy." They had their chance, and now it was time they paid their ten pounds of flesh. It was the least they could do for making him an orphan, for killing Lightning and the others right in front of him – for killing the woman who birthed and loved him alongside the friends they had made. They would rue the day they let him live._

_ The Omega Weapon sat in its holster across the back of his waist, like it once had on Lightning's when she still lived, and he stroked the handle absentmindedly. _

_ 'Mom, Aunt Serah, Uncle Snow, Hope, Sazh – I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, but they don't deserve your sacrifice.'_

_ Turning to the younger teen beside him - a black-skinned eighteen year-old with an afro like his deceased father's – he asked, "Ready, Dajh? If we do this, we can never go back. We'll be hunted to the ends of the world. We'll be branded traitors of humanity, just like our families once were."_

_ Dajh scowled and stroked the twin combi-pistols in their holsters before snorting. "We seem to have past that point a while ago." He touched the l'Cie brand on his chest, exactly where Sazh's once was. He gazed back at the twenty-two year-old with blond hair that had small streaks of pink. "What about you, Kiyoshi? You sure you want to go through with this? Aunt Lebreau and the rest of NORA will be saddened by this, and you'll be leaving Rinnia and Jerix alone in the world."_

_ Kiyoshi snorted and ran a hand through his hair. 'You would mention them, wouldn't you? You would do this whole thing alone, if you had it your way.' _

_ It was true though. NORA – that crazy group that had become a bunch of fun surrogate uncles and one loving surrogate aunt to both boys – would be devastated with their choice, his pseudo-aunt-turned-mother-in-law Lebreau especially. Then there was the fact of his wife, Rinnia, and their three year-old son Jerix would be crushed if he left._

_ However, justice still needed to be done._

_ "You know as well as I do that NORA will watch over them. They'll keep them safe. Let's just get this started."_

_ Dajh grinned and raised his hand to reveal a feather-shaped crystal before throwing it into the air and shooting it with his pistols, screaming, "Brynhildr!"_

_ A fiery portal opened, and a female fire-elemental knight-turned-sports car burst out of it and raced towards her summoner. She then turned and slid towards the two, coming to a complete stop mere inches from Dajh and opened the hatch to allow him in._

_ Kiyoshi snorted and grinned. "Show-off." Dajh just laughed and climbed into the crystal-eidolon, while Kiyoshi raised the rose-shaped crystal in his own hand and said lowly, "Let's do this..." He tossed the crystal into the air and pulled out his gunsaber, cutting the crystal in half in an explosion of rose petals as he yelled, "Odin!"_

_ The sky darkened while flashes of lightning struck all around, and a neighing was heard as a white horse carrying a double blade sword in the shape of a large "S" in its mouth descended from the skies. When it touched the ground, it turned sharply to its summoner and, with a toss of its head, threw the sword to Kiyoshi as it drew near. Kiyoshi sheathed Omega Weapon and grabbed the flying sword with one hand while his other grabbed the reins of the charging steed, flinging himself up into the saddle._

_ With a yell from both men, the two summons charged towards the crystal pillar._

_ There was a small settlement near the base of the crystal, though it was really nothing more than a few landing platforms for supply ships to come and go as well as a few administration and apartment buildings for the workers and their families. A small contingent of guards and mechs were stationed there, but they weren't at that high of a level to be more than an annoyance. The men on the watchtower noticed them closing in fast, and any attempts to deter the men were ignored. Kiyoshi just broke the sword into two and used them to summon thunder down on his enemies, while Dajh occupied himself with running over anyone who got in the way while burning the buildings to the ground._

_ It was over within two minutes._

_ The two then reached the pillar base, and the eidolons transformed into their humanoid forms before assisting their human companions in hacking away at the pillar. For a normal human being, this would have taken centuries to do, but when the human being is not only strong enough to take down some of the heavyweights of Gran Pulse alone but is also assisted by another like him and two beings of pure power, the crystal was being smashed through at an incredible rate. Between Dajh shooting spider cracks into the crystal that Brynhildr would smash with her bludgeons and Kiyoshi and Odin slicing out large chunks of the pillar, it wouldn't be long before the whole structure would collapse._

_ Finally, after maybe a half an hour of shooting, hacking, and smashing, Kiyoshi heard the cracking and shattering of the pillar and turned to Dajh, yelling, "That's enough! Get out of here! QUICKLY!"_

_ Dodging to the side as a piece of crystal crashed near him and coughing from the dust, Dajh yelled back, "What about you!? Come on, man! There's nothing more to do!"_

_ "Go on ahead without me! I've still got something left to take care of!"_

_ Dajh reluctantly nodded and hopped into Brynhildr before driving away speedily. Kiyoshi gazed on as the man got further and further away before allowing a manic grin onto his face. 'Finally...'_

_ Banishing Odin away, Kiyoshi dodged to the side as another large chunk crashed nearby before running up the side. He pushed himself off at the top and landed against the side of another, running up it before launching towards another higher up. One nearly came too close to pinning him underneath it as it fell, but Kiyoshi simply grabbed the edge and flipped himself from under it and onto its side before jumping out of the way as a smaller large piece fell alongside it._

_ He continued his ascent, climbing quickly and steadily to the top, landing upon a large flat expanse near the base of the sphere. There, two female figures trapped in crystal lay._

_ Vanille and Fang._

_ Rushing towards them, he started to lift both crystal forms into his arms, muttering, "Don't worry, aunties. I won't let the two of you die either." He looked away and raised his hand again, only this time, it was a different crystal, a dark one that oozed darkness from its gray ethereal core._

_ The one crystal that he had kept secret from everyone and would bring about his revenge against the world who had scorned him._

_ Throwing it into the air, he pulled out his gunsaber and shot it, yelling, "Let us purge the world of these traitors, Shinryu!"_

_ A large portal of shadow and black fire erupted in mid-air, glowing white glyphs offsetting the dark background, and a golden-taloned dark claw burst forward and pulled a dragon larger than Bahamut made of black crystal with a golden front out from the portal, roaring with fury and hate._

_ It pulled itself free and flew down towards its master, swooping the man and the two crystal maidens onto its back before flying away from the destruction happening around it._

_ When it had reached a appropriate height away from the sphere, Kiyoshi swept a hand towards its target and commanded, "Do it! Chaotic Flare!"_

_ Shinryu roared before a black light charged in its mouth. It reared its head back before quickly pointing it towards the falling sphere, a beam of black and gray light shooting from its mouth and impacting with it._

_ Cocoon, the once fabled continent in the sky, burst into darkness and black flames, whatever that managed to escape the summon's attack would soon be crushed on the ground, killing the millions that still inhabited the structure._

_ Kiyoshi laughed at the sight, tears of mirth leaking from his eyes, before those eyes turned red. He turned towards some unseen watcher and asked with a sadistic grin, **"How much longer are you going to run, KIYOSHI-KUN?!"**_

* * *

Kiyoshi screamed loudly and shot up from where he lay. He was sweating profusely, and he glanced around, panting rapidly, wondering for a moment where he was while the tattoo on his arm burned with an unholy fire. The events of the last few days came rushing back, and he sighed in relief. He sat there, his arm still hurting but settling down, gazing towards the bed sheets but not really seeing them, mentally saying, _It's alright. Just a bad memory. That's all._

There was a frantic but light-handed knocking on his door, and he croaked out, "Come in."

The door swung open to reveal Naruto standing there with wide eyes, while Teuchi and Ayame stood behind him with concern on their faces. Lee and Tenten stood behind the ramen chefs while looking in, having been awoken from the loud yell.

Naruto's eyes were wide as he asked, "Kiyoshi-san, what happened? Are you okay?"

Kiyoshi showed a small yet tired smile to the boy and swung his legs around to stand up from the bed. "Nothing, Naruto. Nothing happened. It was just a really bad dream. That's all." He stretched lightly and popped his back before heading towards the bathroom. "You can go back to what you were doing. I'll be there in a sec."

Naruto nodded slightly before exiting the room and leading Tenten and Lee towards the kitchen. Teuchi offered a small frown at the boy before following after the kids. Ayame just stood there with an eyebrow raised, but Kiyoshi ignored her and walked towards the bathroom.

Turning on the faucet, he splashed cold water onto his face and rubbed his eyes a little, willing the tiredness out of himself. As he felt the water drip down, he leaned against the sink and panted a little, trying to stop the dream from resurfacing.

He felt a soft hand rest on his back, and he looked into the mirror to see Ayame's reflection next to his own, a sad look marring her features. She rubbed him a little, tracing the wolf and dragon tattoos with her fingers, before resting her hand on his shoulder. "It was more than just a dream, wasn't it?" she quietly asked.

Kiyoshi just nodded his head before lowering it again. "Let's just call it a bad, long-forgotten memory, and leave it at that. It really would take too long to have to explain everything."

Ayame smiled slightly, though the sad look didn't leave, and she patted his shoulder. "Take a shower. It'll help relieve some tension in your body. Then come down to breakfast."

Kiyoshi nodded, and Ayame left the room.

* * *

Hiruzen had just stepped into his office and was currently barking out orders to his ANBU commanders. "I want groups of two, no, FOUR ANBU apiece to start heading for the various Daimyos and villages and inform them that Danzo Shimura is hereby a traitor to Hi no Kuni. Inform them all that we will reward them handsomely for that rat dead or alive, while harboring him will be considered an act of war against our nation. Say that he is a dangerous threat and to not take him on alone. Meanwhile, have the remaining shinobi start scouring the village for remnants of ROOT or ROOT sympathizers and start keeping an eye out for any one trying to probe our defenses. I don't want to rely solely on Kiyoshi-san's resources and abilities. We will prove to the Emperor that we can stand on our own feet and do our part for the Empire. GET TO IT!"

The commanders saluted and yelled, "HAI!" before vanishing via shunshin. Sarutobi sat down at his desk and buzzed his secretary. "Have a runner go to all the clan heads and call them here to me as quickly as they can. Have them all come around, say, ten o'clock. Also, I want all squad commanders in my office on the double. I have some missions within the village for the teams that needed doing yesterday!"

"Yes, Sandaime-sama," the woman replied back.

Sarutobi leaned back into his chair and tapped his chin in thought, thinking about last night. _Need to find out about the loyalty of my forces, but I can't keep on relying on Kiyoshi's abilities. His __Shinpan no Me__ is rather useful, but I doubt it's some sort of magic cure-all that can tell me where my ninjas' loyalties lie. Danzo's ROOT may have been tainted, but I know that some of his supporters are good people who thought they were doing the right thing._

He thought a little bit more before smiling and leaning forward to begin writing a decree. _Of course! I have an entire clan of mind walkers at my disposal. I'll have Inoichi check a few of the clansmen he trusts, and then they'll check the rest of the clan. Once he's assured of their loyalties, I'll have all of them begin to check the regular forces. I'll leave the clans alone for now, since it seems that Danzo-teme was getting more of his support from the civilians anyway._

Finishing the order and setting it aside, Sarutobi formed his hands into a seal and channeled some chakra, summoning a two-foot high, white-haired, black-faced langur monkey in a red vest and a small matching fez perched on his head. Leaning towards the creature, he said, "Chokichi, I find myself in need of your services again."

The monkey raised a furry eyebrow and sat onto the desk while he scratched his back with his left foot, saying in a playful tone, "You know the rules, Old Man. You want me to do something, you gotta make it worth my while."

Sarutobi chuckled a little and reached into his drawer to pull out a bag of baked banana chips to wave in front of the little simian. "Made two days ago by my daughter-in-law Naomi."

Chokichi's ears perked at the gift and took them. As he started eating them, he said, "Now that's what I'm talking about. So what can I do you for?"

Sarutobi held up a scroll for the little primate. "I need you to take another scroll to Jiraiya for me. He needs to know about Danzo's betrayal of the village and to get the word out to his spy network to keep an eye out for him. He needs to do this before returning to Konoha."

Chokichi swallowed and nodded his head, wrapping his tail around the scroll. "Gotcha. Jiji also wanted me to pass on something to you."

"Enma?" Sarutobi said as his eyebrow raised. "What about?"

Chokichi closed the bag of chips and put the rest of them in his pocket. "Seems that he went to a summons meeting not too long ago, which is weird because they don't happen that often, and all of them are getting nervous about something, like some sort of predators are on the move. Even the Snake summons were there, and we all know about how Manda-san and his group are considered 'unmentionables' for the most part. Even more weird was the reappearance of some of the summons thought to be lost, like the Bears and the Lizards. Whatever's going on, it's spooked some of them to reconnect with the rest of us. Jiji was actually thinking that we'll see the Mystics begin to return, but everyone knows that they left this world eons ago. These predators... Jiji called them the 'Dark Hunters', and they're supposed to be the only thing we've ever feared."

Sarutobi's eyes widened a little. _Could it be-?_ Looking back to the monkey, he asked, "Cho-kun, could one of these Hunters be a boy called Kiyoshi Tenshi?"

"The Tenshis?" The monkey repeated with confusion. "Naaah, it can't be them. Don't really remember which summons they've got – so no one's really actually met them directly in years – but we know they're on our side. Whatever these Hunter things are, they aren't exactly human. Intelligent, maybe, but not human. Besides, the Tenshis have always been around, while these Hunters have been off the grid for a long time."

"But why exactly do you fear them?"

Chokichi leveled a stare at the old man, and his next sentence froze Sarutobi cold.

"Because they're the only things that could actually kill us."

The little monkey waved a hand. "Don't get me wrong. We can still die from things like old age or poisons or even in battle, but in the case of the last two, we kind of go into this thing where we automatically return to our realms and heal from our injuries in some kind of weird stasis – something that the Tenshis TAUGHT us. Until we fully heal, we are unable to be summoned by anyone, though we eventually come out of it and go back to normal. However, that doesn't mean there aren't the occasional few who can overpower us and prevent us from returning to our realms via reverse summoning, though those people would have to be crazy-strong. Right now, probably the only humans who could actually do that would be most members of the Tenshi clan and a few other high-level nin, but they wouldn't have any reason to do so.

"Now the Hunters, these guys are different. They are that strong, and the wounds they could inflict on us would be so lethal and vicious that the stasis wouldn't work most of the time. Even worse, these things are old. Like, REALLY old. As in, they are so old, they've been around for centuries upon centuries, slumbering beneath the ground or in caves or mountaintops or wherever the heck they are – and the older they get, the more powerful they become. The last time some of them came out, it was somewhere around seven hundred to eight hundred years ago, and a few of the summon clans were wiped out while others took heavy losses before the Hunters were finally destroyed. Since then, we've been keeping an eye out for the rest of them, and they're now starting to wake up again."

Sarutobi leaned back, his face pale and his body shaking, as he ran a hand over his face. _Is this what Kiyoshi-san was talking about? Is something like this really about to happen here?_

He was broken from his thoughts when Chokichi said cheerfully, "But, don't worry! Everything's going to be fine for now."

He stared at the little monkey in shock, but the primate just grinned and raised one of his fingers. "According to Jiji, we've still got some years before any of these guys start appearing, and the strongest ones were actually destroyed the last time. So that means we still have a good chance of winning, and not to also mention that the Tenshi clan has been hunting them all for Kami knows how long – and no one knows how to hunt these guys better than a Tenshi. Anyway, I'd better get to Jiraiya-san before he goes on the move again."

"Wait." Chokichi looked back to Sarutobi after hefting the scroll onto his back, and Sarutobi asked, "If none of the summons know the Tenshi clan, then how can they put so much trust in them?"

Chokichi shrugged his shoulders as he answered, "Simple. Because the Tenshi clan has been around for a really long time, and their ancestors helped us before."

At Sarutobi's nod, the monkey poofed away, leaving the old man to turn his chair to stare out the windows behind him. _Whatever these things are, we cannot allow them to win. I'll ask Kiyoshi-san about them when I get the chance, but now it's really time to start upping our training. That's probably the reason why the Emperor has never sent troops here – because there's no point in defending a continent whose people has grown stagnant. Better to wipe the slate clean than defend a lost cause, and the smarter people would run the first chance they get. Well, I won't have it! Of all the villages, I will make sure that at least Konoha will put up a damn good fight against these things before it's burned to the ground!_

There was a knock at the door, and his secretary poked her head in. "Hokage-sama, the squad leaders have all arrived and are currently waiting for you down in the meeting room. Also, the clan heads have sent word back that they will meet you around ten-thirty. I have arranged for conference room number two to be ready at that time."

Sarutobi nodded his head and got up from his seat. As he passed her out the door, he handed her some scrolls and said, "Make sure some runners get these orders out quickly. We're short on time today with everything that needs to be done."

She bowed to him and rushed off to do as he commanded, while Sarutobi walked down to the meeting hall.

* * *

Kiyoshi, having finished his breakfast, was currently getting dressed into more appropriate attire for the journey he had to make. Everything was going according to plan, but there were a few things that needed his personal attention, and he needed to do them soon. Besides, Rufus had sent him some quick mission orders through his phone regarding a disturbance several miles near Tanzaku, and that happened to be on the way. Kiyoshi just hoped that they didn't cut into his time-frame, or else it might make things difficult in the future.

He tugged the sleeves of the coat a little, pulling out a couple folds from putting it on. He had decided on another clan set today – a dark pair of old-styled pants and matching over-shirt, with a navy sash tied around the waist, and white pointed boots. Around his neck sat a white cravat that hung loose from the confines of his shirt, showing the white linen undershirt underneath. To top it all off, he had donned a black trench coat with golden trim that hung open. In short, the clothes had once been worn by Setzer Gabbiani, though he looked like some sort of nobleman or rich merchant's child to everyone else, which he smirked at when he thought of it. _Oh, if only they really knew..._

Finishing his minor touches, he crossed his arms in thought about the situation here in the village. It was still too dangerous to leave Naruto here alone in the off chance that someone else decided to "drop in." Kefka's appearance was no mere coincidence; Kiyoshi just knew that the twisted harlequin had been up to something here. Why else seek the help of a native?

_It's gotta be connected to Naruto and the Kyuubi. Considering what would happen if- No, I __can't be distracted by it. I'll make sure it never comes to that, _ He raised a hand to the ten seals on his chest. _No matter what the cost. Better death than allowing chaos to rule._

Uncrossing his arms, he began making various handseals, gathering chakra into one hand while magic flowed through the other. It was one of the Tenshi's specialized techniques, though Kiyoshi seemed to have more of a knack for them than anyone else in his family.

_And why shouldn't I? After all, I am the one __most__ familiar with them than anyone else._ He chuckled at the double meaning of the words.

Finally resting on the v-cross combo he'd shown Sarutobi the other day, he called out as his eyes glowed a little, "_Hikari/Yami Bunshin!_"

Four clones formed in front of him, two from glowing light while the other two seemed to pull from the shadows of the room. While he could have simply done either light or darkness, he didn't want to chance anything happening, so he pulled a little more chakra to create two of each set.

Some might consider this clone technique to be higher than the _Kage Bunshin_, but there were drawbacks to them that would make one pause before rushing to try them. Like their names implied, both clone sets flourished in their respective elements while seeming to get weaker in their opposing ones. _Hikari Bunshins_ were better suited for daytime operations in areas where they were expected to be closer to the sun. The further they went into darkness, their power would dwindle a little (though they still could be considered quite formidable). _Yami Bunshins_, on the other hand, were better for night missions or tasks that required they go into a cave or underground base for extended periods of time where sunlight (or moonlight, as _Hikari Bunshins_ were capable of drawing some power from it) would be inaccessible. In other words, it would be foolish to use _Hikari Bunshins_ where _Yami_ ones were needed - and vice versa - if their power levels weren't high enough to compensate for their weaknesses. Also, like their names implied, they could only use techniques that were more tied to their elements – Hikari using "light"-based techniques and Yami using "dark" - though they could be reabsorbed back into their summoner before they dispelled and give back some magic and chakra to him or her.

Kiyoshi looked to the _Yami Bunshins_ first, and he held in a snort at what he saw. It seems like even his clones wanted to wear clan attire, as one was wearing dark armor accented in blackish-blue and gold with a spiked helmet that had darkness ingrained into the very steel. It had once been the attire of the Dark Knight Cecil Harvey before he became a Paladin, a lance-sword of the same metal across his back. The other dressed in what used to be the traditional ninja attire of yore – a tight-fitting shirt and pants with gloves, padded leather boots, and a full face mask that only showed the eyes and a gold and blue headband on the forehead – that was reminiscent of the Master Ninja and Assassin simply named Shadow.

When he looked at the _Hikari Bunshins_, he choked a little bit in shock when he looked at them. One of them was simply wearing white-blue armor with gold linings and a matching cape – the Paladin armor of Cecil's – and a blue lance-sword with a red blade across it's own back, but it was the second that made him pause. In front of him stood a lithe girl with long blonde hair that trailed to her shoulders, clad in a silver and gold Valkyrie-like suit of armor over a black synthetic under-suit that covered her main body and lower arms, a shield on her right arm, thigh-high armor boots, and, over her left leg, a long sash made of white feathers, making her look like some sort of guardian angel. Hanging from her right hip was a silver and gold gunsaber that had been modified to more resemble a traditional sword.

Kiyoshi refrained from rubbing his forehead and just sighed, thinking, _Maybe I am working too hard..._ Turning to the _Yami Bunshins_, he said, "For now, the two of you will be sealed into a scroll and will be released later on when night falls. When you are released, one of you needs to stay here near the house and keep an eye on Naruto, while the other goes out and canvases the town. There's no need to let the villagers know that I am gone. Understood?"

The two clones replied with a "Hai!" before Kiyoshi slapped seal tags on their shoulders and sent them into a storage scroll. He then turned to the _Hikari Bunshins_ and said, "During the day, you'll need to be near Naruto at all times. Sarutobi will seek you out if there is something of import he needs to discuss, but he'll leave you to your own devices for the most part. When the night falls, unseal the _Yami Bunshins_ and have them seal you into the scroll in their place. Try to conserve as much energy as you can, but if any major threats reveal themselves, then all four of you need to hold them off until I can get back here. Understood?"

The Paladin said, "Hai!" and left go do as he ordered, while the girl just stood there and looked at him with saddened eyes. They just stared at each other for a few seconds, before she said with a little smile on her lips, "You really are starting to run yourself ragged, Onii-san. You should rest more often. The world isn't going to end if you decide to take it easy for a few days."

Kiyoshi just returned the smile and shook his head. "Maybe, but there's so much to do right now. Once the package comes, I can take a breather, but until then, I have to keep going."

Her smile widened slightly, and she walked up to him and embraced him in a gentle hug. She leaned her head forward and whispered into his ear, "Don't worry, Onii-san. I'll always be here." They stood there in silence, before she unwrapped her arms and left the room to join the other clone.

He smiled and shook his head before stepping out into the hall. Just as Kiyoshi was closing the door, he heard something else – something far darker – whisper gleefully in the back of his mind and make him scowl.

_**Yessss, and so will I...**_

He growled and turned in the direction towards the front door. _Not if I have anything to say about it._

* * *

Naruto was currently walking out of a clothing store, a large bag of new garments currently in his skinny arms and a smile splitting his face, while Ayame strode alongside him, humming lightly to herself. Naruto had always wondered why he had never gone to that clothing store before, since the lady there was rather nice and didn't give him any of the odd looks that he usually got in stores that hated him. Maybe she was a newcomer to the village or something. In any case, it was nice to be able to shop without the owner watching their every move and trying to accuse him of theft – or just outright throwing him out of the store the second he set foot in the place.

His good mood dropped slightly, however, when he noticed a few villagers striding up to them, a mixture of angry and disgusted looks on their faces. The man leading them had a sake bottle on his hand, and judging by his swaying, he had been drinking for some time.

Naruto sighed a little, hoping that ANBU was nearby. _Well, might as well get this over with_.

As the group drew closer, pushing its way through the early-morning crowd, the leader caught sight of the boy and pointed at him, yelling at the top of his voice, "There you are, you damn beast! You think you can get away from your just punishments?! Look at all the damage you caused, calling your fucking little demon ally to come and aid you in getting your revenge! This time, we'll make sure you stay in that hospital permanently!"

Ayame had tensed and was now cursing for being in the middle of a crowd and not in her ANBU regalia. _Shit! If I reveal myself, it could blow my cover as a civilian! I can't protect Naruto if everyone knows I report to Hokage-sama!_

Naruto, on the other hand, had mistaken her tension for fear and was getting a little angry now. _That man's scaring Ayame-nee-san! Even worse, I think he's going to try and hurt me, and if they see Nee-san, they'll probably hurt her too! Gotta think of a way out of this!_

Coming up with something on the fly, Naruto whispered to Ayame out of the corner of her mouth, "Nee-san, it looks like their main group is just them. I'll distract them while you try to run as fast as you can to Jiji, okay?"

Ayame widened her eyes and glanced at the boy. "But, Naruto-kun-"

"Just go!" Naruto whispered fiercely before turning back to the approaching group and yelling back, "Hey, go back to your bar, you assholes! I can smell the alcohol all the way over here! I didn't do anything to you idiots, so leave me alone!"

The man's face turned a little red, and he just yelled back as he started to swing the nearly empty sake bottle towards the boy. "What the fuck did you just say, you little shit?! I swear I'm gonna beat you til you can't breathe from that loud mouth of yours! You can count on that!"

With one last swing, he let the bottle go, and amazingly enough, it was on target for the boy's head. His arms being full and not having any time to dodge, Naruto winced as he thought, _This is gonna hurt..._

"_Graviga_."

A ball of gray light surrounded the bottle and sent it smashing to the ground, and everyone looked up to see a blonde-haired girl in armor standing there and pointing her finger down at the now-shattered clay jar. She nonchalantly jumped from the roof and slowly descended to the ground, the feathers on her hip fluttering in the breeze. She grinned at Naruto quickly before turning and staring blankly at the man now staring at her in drunken shock.

Or pedophilic lust - she really couldn't tell but was really hoping for the first as she shivered slightly in disgust. _PERVERT!_

He seemed to regain his anger though, as he started yelling again. "Girl, how DARE you defend that thing?! I have half a mind to-"

A red blade was suddenly leveled between his eyebrows, and the man's eyes slowly moved down the weapon to see the boy who had caused so much trouble since he had first came here a mere two days ago. "You're right," the boy intoned lazily. "You do seem to only have half a mind. Did you really think that I was going to let Naruto walk around so freely without someone to keep an eye out for idiots such as you?"

The man snarled and batted the blade away, readying a fist to strike the insolent brat in front of him. "And what is an insignificant little cum-stain such as you going to do? How about I make you wish you had dribbled out and down your kaa-san's leg rather than be born?"

Both children narrowed their eyes, but the man was confused when they smiled maliciously. The girl raised her thumb and pointer finger to her mouth and let out a soft whistle that rang clear.

Multiple sounds of fletches being pulled back in their bows and guns being cocked caused the man to look around himself and promptly piss himself in fright. There had to have been nearly twenty to thirty dark-cloaked versions of the same brat all standing on the rooftops and the street-sides from out of nowhere, wielding bows and guns that were now pointing straight at him and his group.

He let out an audible gulp.

The girl rested her free hand on her gunsaber and said playfully, "Wanna try your army against ours?"

The man rapidly shook his head.

Kiyoshi smirked and turned to the rest of the group. "Get out of here and go home. Public displays of drunkenness before five P.M. is a crime, and I really have no problem with allowing the ANBU currently watching you to take you all in. In fact, this is more merciful, since they were waiting for that bottle to hit Naruto-kun so they could put you down permanently."

The group paled, and the girl smirked as she waved the Kage Bunshins to vanish again. Just as the group was about to grab their friend and go, Kiyoshi struck a thinking position for a second before snapping his fingers. "Oh yes, I almost forgot."

Like a flash, he grabbed the front of the man's shirt and pulled him down into the path of Kiyoshi's fist. Knuckle collided with cartilage with a loud _CRUNCH_, and he let the man drop to the ground crying in pain and clutching the bleeding appendage. He glanced back up at Kiyoshi and nearly shit himself at the boy's malicious gaze. He actually did when Kiyoshi said, "If you ever insult my kaa-san in such a way ever again, I'll slit your throat and then force-feed your intestines to your children. Do I make myself clear?"

The man's eyes rolled back as he fainted.

Kiyoshi snorted and turned around, walking to Naruto. "Get this filth out of my sight!"

The man's friends were quick to grab him and carry him rapidly out of sight. As soon as they did so, one of the ANBU dropped down and saluted the boy. "Should we arrest them, sir? They still caused a public disturbance."

The bunshin shook his head. "Let 'em go. They're not worth going after right now. If the man tries it again, though, put him down permanently."

"Sir!" The ANBU saluted again and shunshined out of sight.

The male bunshin looked to the female and said, "I'll go canvas the town and surrounding areas. Keep close to Naruto-kun."

"Hai," the female responded with a nod. As the male jumped to the rooftops, the female looked back to the boy with a smile on her face.

Naruto appeared to be confused, wondering who this girl was supposed to be and what her connection was to Kiyoshi-san. He then asked, "U-Um, excuse me? Who are you?"

The girl fought a playful smile and put on a wounded look. She leaned down and crossed her arms close to her chest as she gave him a puppy-eyed look. "Awww, Naruto-kun. You mean you don't recognize me even in the slightest? That's soooo mean!"

More confused than before, Naruto looked closely at the girl and began to notice some rather strange similarities. The spikey-ish blond hair, the blue eyes that hid some sort of deep secret, the odd armor and weaponry...

Naruto's eyes widened considerably (making the girl suppress a laugh at the look), and he yelled out, "K-K-Kiyoshi-san?!"

Unbeknownst to the three, most activity on the street just stopped completely as almost everyone turned and stared wide-eyed at the young girl standing before them.

The girl did let out a laugh this time, and she patted the boy's head. "Close, Naruto-kun. Very close. In a way, I am Kiyoshi-onii-san, and yet, at the same time, I'm completely different."

Naruto just cocked his head to the side, the depths of confusion reaching an all-time high as he muttered out, "Huh?"

The girl adopted a thinking pose as she gazed up the sky. "Hmmm, how to explain this? I guess the best way to put it would be like I'm a part of Onii-san's soul given form, yet I am different enough from his original soul that my own soul could be considered only mine." She then shrugged. "I guess the closest thing we are would be twins, even though Onii-san's a lot older than I am, and we usually are never given separate bodies. Nii-san is the real one in this life, while this body I'm possessing is just a very advanced bunshin. I can survive outside of Nii-san for a while, but eventually I would have to go back inside him to recover."

Ayame managed to recover from her shock enough to say, "Sooo, you're saying that you're actually just a bunshin that possesses a large part of his personality?"

The girl pouted and waved a chiding finger. "No, that's the absolute opposite of what I said! I'm saying that a long time ago, I was "born", for lack of a better word, from Nii-san's soul and remain a part of it for whenever he needs me. Without Nii-san, I would not be able to exist, as I am still connected to him rather closely, but he can in fact let me out from time to time in a bunshin if he ever needs my help! I can think and feel completely on my own without Nii-san's influence, while a bunshin can only possess whatever emotions Nii-san puts into it."

She gestured with a thumb behind her towards the direction the other clone left. "Take that clone, for instance. It's a very close copy to Nii-san, reflecting everything he knows and feels as the original would, but it's still just a copy. At the end of the day, that clone's personality would just mesh back into Nii-san's, while in my case, all my experiences, thoughts, and feelings remain mine even when I go back."

Naruto thought about her words for a moment before nodding his head. They did make sense, in a circular and rather confusing way. He then asked, "So, if you're different from Kiyoshi-san, then what do we call you?"

The girl smiled widely and bowed a little. "My name is Rika. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." She then straightened again and said happily, "Well! Let's get back to the manor so we can take care of these clothes!"

* * *

To get from Konoha to Tanzaku, one could simply walk the road like some sort of common civilian, except the problem with that lied in the fact that it often took at least four or five full days to get there – longer if the roads were so muddy from the rain that traveling was either impossible or twenty kinds of frustrating. Ninja were not so hampered and could travel cross-country using speed- and tree-running. A typical genin would only make it halfway there before running out of chakra and needing to rest. A chuunin could make it there and still have a little chakra to spare, while a jounin would probably still have roughly half to two-thirds of his chakra left – depending on their control and reserves, of course.

That was one of the things that was best about being from the Tenshi clan. You got to break so many rules, it was almost too funny, and screw all the kekkei genkai holders who whined about it. All it would take for Kiyoshi to reach Tanzaku was simply a couple of _Haste_ spells, and he would be in Tanzaku before evening.

As his first _Haste_ spell wore down, Kiyoshi slowed to a stop and flipped open his phone to double-check the area. The in-built GPS showed that the disturbance was located in a wooded area that he could see about a hundred feet away, and Rufus had told him that the disruption was seismic in nature - meaning that this thing, whatever it was, had managed to move the ground enough to have every satellite under Imperial control going nuts.

Suddenly, Kiyoshi had a very bad feeling about this, because, in his experience, anything that large usually meant wide-scale destruction.

Recasting _Haste_ on himself, he bolted towards the woods.

* * *

Deep beneath the earth, something had barely awoken as it felt the earth shift it from side to side, forcing it to make adjustments to right itself again. How many years had it been? The last time it and it's brethren had walked above-ground, it had been during some war years ago between them and the various summons after them. It remembered something else. A scent, one that was more familiar than anything else. Something that triggered an inexplicable rage just by thinking about it. A scent that the being would try to destroy with all of its power.

It sensed its brethren still asleep, scattered across the world and buried even deeper than it. Curse their conqueror, and all those wretched animals by his side! Why did he stop them from their mission? Didn't he see they only sought to protect the world by cleansing it? Life was fleeting anyway; no matter how many they killed, nature would find a way to bring those pathetic races back into existence and continue the cycle. How many times had he and his compatriots stopped them from achieving their goal? Too damn many!

Suddenly, even this far beneath the earth, it sensed something approaching. The smell! Even with the dirt and rock covering it, that smell reached it as clear as the wind.

With an enraged rumble in its throat, it began clawing its way to the surface.

* * *

Kiyoshi stopped in the middle of the clearing, his senses stretched out as far as he could push them. Whatever this thing was, it evidently hadn't broken from the earth, meaning it was just moving on through to someplace else or was buried so deep that it still hadn't reached the surface.

Neither of these explanations appealed to him right now. He was on a deadline, damn it!

Flipping his phone open, he frowned at the GPS. _The seismic activity stopped here, not even a mile from its origin. Was it just a tectonic shift? There isn't anything out here that seems to be-_

His attention shifted away from his musings, as the ground began to tremble a little. His frown deepened. _Earthquake?_

As the tremors worsened, his eyes widened when the ground directly underneath him cracked. _NO! SOMETHING'S HERE!_

He jumped away, and a giant white-and-gray claw shot out of the earth towards him. Quickly, he used _kawarimi_ to switch with a log right as the claw closed around him, reappearing on the ground a few yards away from the ever-widening fissure.

The claw slammed into the ground, and it was followed by its partner as they both pulled the rest of the body out of the rumbling earth. The shoulders came out first, as they seemed to have taken on the forms of demented, flightless wings out of the back of the creature that open to release its devastating laser barrages. The head had no mouth or nose, almost resembling a helmet with glowing crimson-orange eye holes. A glowing crimson orb was encased in the middle of its chest, and all around the sides and back of its waist flowed a wide, fanned tail. As it finally pulled itself out of the ground, two giant, clawed feet stepped onto the earth, sending small tremors with each step it took while it stared at the boy with rage.

Kiyoshi's eyes widened slightly more, a little fear beginning to enter his gaze, and he whispered, "No way...Diamond Weapon..."

* * *

To the north-east, far past Kaminari no Kuni, out of the isolated peninsula that was known that Elemental Nations, and deeper in the mainland that was the heart of the Empire, sat the Imperial Capital – the seat of the Jade Emperor and the location of all his military, financial, and political might. To be allowed into this city as an outsider was indeed a great honor, as the Jade Emperor's army patrolled this area religiously. No attack had ever made it to the Imperial Capital's walls, so effective was the army's might and tactical prowess, making it and its citizens the most protected in the world.

Travel through the busy streets, past the many intertwining roads and various squares, and one would eventually make it to the gates of the Jade Palace, a large, sprawling estate that made up the very center of the city. It was a community within itself, almost totally self-sustaining, and very few were ever granted the privilege to come and go as they pleased from its grounds.

And it was from this place that many alarms began blaring loudly.

Beneath the palace, underground, a command center had been built, with various screens showing multiple satellite views from around the world, zeroed in upon what region had been deemed of interest. The moment the alarms went out, many stationed there began to scramble to get the threat on screen. Something like this had never happened before, not for many, many years.

As the technicians scrambled to get updates, the elevator doors opened to reveal a ten year-old boy. His hair was strawberry-blond, his long bangs parted to the sides out of his face, and his ice-blue eyes were currently scanning the room. Underneath his royal robes, all patterned with green Imperial dragons, he wore white pants and a light-blue button-up shirt. He had a small scowl on his face, as his day had now been disrupted even further due to this intrusion. Damn that fat old bastard he called a Tou-san. No doubt the lazy SOB was currently playing with his mistresses and would no doubt complain of his "fun time" being disrupted as well.

In other words, the world had better be Kami-damned ending right now, or some heads were going to roll...

Rufus walked up to a dark-haired man with a mustache and beard that was currently wearing a closed dark blue trenchcoat over his business suit, who saluted him as the young prince approached. "Reeve, there had better be something going on right now, or I'm going to put whoever's responsible as part of stable duty for the caravans for the next twenty years – and I'll make sure the animals are fed laxatives each day."

Reeve Tuesti-Tenshi had long-since gotten used to Rufus' threats and simply saluted again. "My lord, we've just started to receive rather unusual seismic activity emanating from the Elemental Nations. It is within a mile-radius of the earlier activity we scanned a few days ago."

"Any idea what's caused it to elevate to this?"

"We're still looking into it. The satellites are currently having trouble focusing on the area right now, possibly due to some form of static interference."

Rufus' scowl deepened as he crossed his arms, considering what to do. Right now, he didn't wish to send any of his troops into that accursed peninsula, lest the various pig-headed Daimyos there start to raise a fuss about him supposedly encroaching on "their" territories. It was that kind of behavior that made Rufus just want to send them anyway to shut them up, but he really didn't want to deal with a potential rebellion right now, despite how quick and effortless it would be.

He glanced back at Reeve. "Any word from Kiyoshi?"

The man started shaking his head but was interrupted when Rufus' phone began to chime. The boy grinned a little and muttered, "Of course you're somehow involved, Kiyoshi," as he pulled it out and answered it in a more normal tone. "Kiyoshi, what a-"

"_Shut up **(crackle)** listen, Rufus! You know **(snap)** seismic activity **(crackle)** me to find?!_"

Rufus put his free hand against his other ear to try and drown out some of the surrounding noise. "Kiyoshi, I can't hear you. There's too much static right now." He turned over to Reeve. "Get him on loudspeakers. I can't hear him with this much noise – and someone get those alarms shut off!"

The speakers crackled to life, and Kiyoshi's panicked voice sounded throughout the room."_It wasn't **(fuzz)** -mic activity! There's **(spark)** Kami-damned **(crack)** -pon out here!_"

"Static is currently clearing up! We should start to get an image soon," Reeve called from one of the stations.

Rufus turned towards the large screen on the wall, and when he heard an explosion, he then yelled, "Kiyoshi?! Kiyoshi, talk to me! What did you find out there?"

"_Can any of you hear me?! It's Diamond! Fuck! Do any of you hear me?! It's the fucking Diamond Weapon!_"

All activity stopped at those words, and Rufus nearly dropped his phone as he and the rest of the room stared in shock at the screen, revealing a fully-awakened Diamond Weapon shooting lasers at what appeared to be hundreds of Kiyoshis – and it was tearing through them all like butter.

"_Is anybody there listening to me?!_ _I repeat! DIAMOND WEAPON HAS AWOKEN IN THE ELEMENTAL NATIONS!_"

* * *

Kiyoshi dodged another laser blast that had gotten a little too close, taking out another ten _Kage Bunshin_ in the process. He seal-lessly formed another twenty in their place as he tried to put some more distance between himself and the being of destruction, throwing a spell at it here and there to try and ward it off. He'd tried using the _Bunshins_ to make some attacks of their own, but the problem was the fact that Diamond was tearing through them faster than they could make hits on it. Kiyoshi himself could try to take it on, but he hadn't been able to use his _Scan_ spell and take a reading of its strengths. In other words, there was a very high chance that the moment he tried to take it on without any support, he would be obliterated without any effort – hence the _Kage Bunshins_. He figured if he could make enough cannon fodder to go against the blasted thing, it would give him a few precious moments to shoot something off.

His uncle's voice came through his earpiece. "_Kiyoshi, it's Reeve. Try using thunder-type spells on it – that's supposed to be its weakness!_"

Kiyoshi snarled and dodged another blast that took out another five _Bunshin_. "Gee, you think?! Where the hell do you think all of this static is coming from?! I've been shooting it with _Thundaga_ and _Triple Thundaga_, tried using _Sparkstrike_ on my weapons and getting close to it – not a smart idea, by the way; damn thing nearly crushed me! Hell, if I could take the time to summon anything else, I'd probably be using Ixion or Odin right now, because Ramuh sure hasn't been able to cut through it! I summoned him right before I called you, and the damn thing just isn't slowing down!"

He turned back to the beast and screamed "_Thundaga_!" as he pointed at it, causing another flurry of lightning bolts to drop from the cloudless sky and strike the giant.

It paused for a mere second but continued on, shooting another laser ray after him before stomping on another batch of _Bunshin_.

* * *

Rufus turned from the screen and barked out, "Who's the nearest group to him who has the highest levels to help take it down?"

A tech down the bank of consoles called out, "Delta Squad 5 is the closest, but they've just engaged a large group of loose monsters! By the time they finish, they won't make it before the Weapon makes it to any nearby settlement, unless Kiyoshi-sama can somehow stall it for over twenty minutes!"

"_Twenty minutes?! Are you all insane?! I can barely stay alive long enough to merely draw it away from the nearest town! I'm running out of places to go!_"

Rufus slammed his fist onto the table. "There's got to be some other team nearby!"

Another tech yelled out, "It's hopeless! The only other squads closest to him are Alpha Squad 7 and Sigma Squad 43, but Alpha's been mostly disabled and needs to return for medical treatment, and Sigma's levels aren't high enough! They'll be slaughtered!"

"Just got the specs on Diamond!" Reeve yelled as one of the smaller screens changed. "Maybe we can find out- Holy shit! That thing's HP aura is one million! That's impossible! It's levels only show it at fifty-five! The greatest increase should have only taken it to around forty-thousand!"

"_One million?! What kind of Kami-damned power boost did this monster get?! Of course, that would also explain the magic resistance on this thing! No wonder my __Thunder__ spells aren't working!_"

Rufus turned back to Reeve and asked, "What about the Clan? Surely there is someone available you can send!"

Reeve thought for a moment before shaking his head. "It's no good. None of the family is anywhere near there at the moment. Sephiroth had been planning on sneaking into Ame for a little bit, but he hasn't left the compound yet. As it is, none of them will ever make it, even if they flew there as fast as possible."

Rufus growled and started scratching his head in frustration. "Kiyoshi, what about portals? Could you make something to get out of there, or maybe bring someone to you?"

Another explosion cut through the speakers, and then, "_Negative! Everything's happening too fast for me to achieve the proper concentration to do it! Besides, the farthest I could go would only be about ten to twenty miles in any direction, and the damn thing's got my scent now! It'll follow me no matter where I portal off to!_"

Reeve groaned and ran a hand through his long hair. They were running out of time, and no matter where Kiyoshi led the thing, it would still destroy just about everything out there. He tapped the back of his head a few times before he perked up and allowed a small smile on his face. "Kiyoshi! What about Cosmos-dono and Chaos-sama? If you issue a challenge to the Weapon, it would at the very least enclose it into a fighting sphere and allow you to wittle it down! The lack of space for it to maneuver would allow you to miss a fair portion of its attacks!"

"_If that would have worked, we wouldn't be talking right now! You seem to forget that the challenges only work on sentients - and Diamond is still considered a mere automaton! This would be different if it was Magus or ExDeath or, hell, even one of the Glyph Espers, but this damn thing doesn't __have a will of its own! If I issue the challenge, all that would happen is I might get incinerated in the time I gave it to get a lock on me! Not to also mention the chance that the Fallen will see it – if they __aren't watching already!_"

There was another explosion, and Kiyoshi began cursing up a storm before yelling, "_Okay, I am seriously running out of room here, as well as chakra and mana! Anyone else got any more bright ideas before I race to my doom?!_"

Rufus tried to wrack his brain for some way to help the imperiled boy, but for once, he was ashamed to say that he was at a loss. He truly wanted to help his oldest friend – oldest than could possibly be believed by any of the "regulars" of this world – but unfortunately, for once in the longest he could remember, he was truly and honestly unable to aid him.

He sighed and sat himself into a seat. There was only the sounds of explosions coming through the speakers, with a few muttered curses and spells coming from Kiyoshi, before Rufus finally broke the silence.

"Kiyoshi...I'm sorry."

A pause, and then the boy on the end chuckled lowly. "_I guess I really am on my own on this one, huh?_"

Rufus allowed a small smile onto his face. "Try to survive using any method you can. You have my authority. That's...about all I can give you."

More silence. It was hard to tell if the boy was having a hard time finding the words to say at a time like this, or if he was just too focused on dodging the various lasers being sent at him. Finally, Kiyoshi said, "_If the screen goes black, then that means the one plan I've come up with has started. If I don't contact you within three days, then I'm dead._"

The connection then went silent, and Rufus hung his head. Complete and utter silence now hung in the room, as the rest of those present watched the screens for some idea of what the boy was planning.

* * *

Kiyoshi held the now silent phone in his hand and flipped it closed before opening a portal to toss it through. If he succeeded in this, he was going to need some way to contact Rufus, and the phone would most likely be destroyed in the ensuing attack.

He stopped running and turned to face the now approaching Weapon. It would still take another minute before it got close enough to attack again. A fiery white light formed in his palm, and he threw it high into the air. He smirked as it exploded, thinking, _Good luck trying to watch me now. That had enough interference to prevent any magical or technological viewing on this area for days_.

He glanced at the Kage Bunshins nearby and said, "Get 'im. Don't hold back."

The bunshins nodded before charging the monster with various cries. Some were blasted away, but many more managed to latch onto the creature and start stabbing it repeatedly with whatever weapons they could summon. Whenever one got close to either being destroyed or running out of energy, it self-destructed in an explosive blast, causing Diamond to shriek with enraged pain every time it happened.

While this was going on, Kiyoshi calmly slapped his hands together and started chanting as his eyes began to glow with a white light.

* * *

When the screens suddenly turned black, Rufus' head snapped up in horror, and he called out, "What happened? Where's the damn feed?!"

Several techs tried to correct the problem, but one yelled back, "Whatever spell that Kiyoshi-sama used has caused all visual and audio to go completely dark. It's like he's set up an EMP field over the whole area. It doesn't matter which satellite focuses in – it still won't show!"

"Dammit! There's gotta be something we can pick up!"

"Confirmed intel coming in, sir!" Another said. "We've managed to pick up both Diamond Weapon's and Kiyoshi-sama's stats. Putting them up on the screen now!"

Various numbers flashed onto the screens, showing the HP auras and physical statuses of the two combatants, as well as Kiyoshi's heart rate and brain patterns.

Rufus allowed some relief to show on his face. They may have only numbers to show it, but at least they confirmed that Kiyoshi was still alive at this point. He then called out, "Keep those numbers on the damn screen and start mobilizing Sigma Squad 43 to intercept! Whatever Kiyoshi's planning, it should be enough for them to finish the beast off and secure his transport back here! I want a medical team ready on stand-by for when they approach the Capital!"

"Sir! Look!"

Suddenly, Diamond's aura began to drop steadily as thousands of numbers detracted from the overall total. Some of the techs let out shouts of victory, and Rufus grinned before calling out, "No time to celebrate yet! Kiyoshi's own mana is still dangerously low, and we don't have any way to know how much chakra he has! What's the ETA of Sigma 43?"

"Nine minutes, sir! For some reason, they're hitting turbulence and have to find a safer route for their stealth hover!"

Rufus nodded and stared at the screen as the numbers continued to slowly but steadily drop. _Come on, Kiyoshi. Just hang on._

* * *

By the time the last bunshins exploded, Diamond was staggering as it tried to keep its balance, and Kiyoshi could sense its aura down to where it should be for its level. It was still pretty tough, but at least now there was more even ground.

The beast glared at the boy before it with hate, and Kiyoshi's glowing eyes stared right back as he smirked. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I piss you off?"

The beast roared and started to walk towards him again, its speed now hampered due to its injuries while the pauldrons were sealed shut from the blasts.

Kiyoshi just summoned T-Murasame and ran a hand down the side of the blade, leaving a long line of crackling thunder behind, before hefting it into a ready position and yelled, "Come on then! COME GET SOME!"

Like a shot, he raced towards the beast's feet before shooting up its middle while screaming, "_Heaven's Light!__"_ His blade glowed white and left a trail of light in the wake of its slash. Once he reached the gem, Kiyoshi then rolled in mid-air and launched towards it, striking the creature fervently and continuously in seconds, before kicking off to dodge its retaliatory swipe.

He sent several energy waves in response, and when he reached the trees, he kicked off again, this time towards the beast's arm. He cut deeply as he passed, kicking off another tree at the end, before cutting across the back. He never stayed in one place for longer than a second, and the massive Weapon was having trouble keeping up with him as he jumped and weaved around it, cutting and slashing when he could.

Soon, Kiyoshi landed back where he first jumped, and he pumped what little chakra he had left into his legs and launched himself straight into the sky, mana gathering in his hand. Diamond tried to swipe after him again, but shadow claws shot out from the trees and prevented the beast enough from doing so. Kiyoshi reached his apex, the mana in his hands swirling violently, and he swung his arms around until his right palm was facing the beast.

_Only have one shot at this. Make it count!_ He then screamed, "_ULTIMA_!"

The mana turned dark and shot towards the giant beast, swirling around it and wrapping it into a sphere of pure black. Some glyphs appeared on the sphere's sides, and it shrank smaller and smaller until it was the size of a small boulder before exploding into a flurry of green and black flames.

Diamond let out a pained cry and fell onto its back, its chest fully exposed, and Kiyoshi swung his sword around until it was pointing downwards. He then dropped from the sky, gaining more and more velocity while his eyes changed to the _Shinpan no Me_, and he yelled, "_**HELL'S GATE!**_"

The sword pierced the beast's chest, and time seemed to stand still for a few seconds, as if the world had decided to hold its breath. Then the orb began to pulse violently as energy leaked out from the wound, and Kiyoshi's eyes widened before his world exploded around him.

* * *

Rika paused in her walking as she headed for the dojo area. She needed to take an account of the armory there and see what could be used to teach Naruto further in his studies, but she felt something in the air and turned her head in the direction that she just knew where Kiyoshi was.

Her eyes widened, and she whispered, "Nii-chan..."

She remained still for a few seconds before shaking her head and headed off to her original destination. Hopefully, that feeling was just her imagination, and that the very fact that she was still here proved that her brother was still alive.

* * *

Down in the command center, the techs were all cheering as Diamond reached its final limits of life, shouting out encouragements that the boy could not hear. Rufus allowed a small smile onto his face and crossed his arms. _Maybe we won't need the extraction after all. Kiyoshi, you always continue to be so surprising._

Just as the counter hit zero on Diamond's life, Rufus felt the pause in the air and frowned slightly. _What was-?_

Suddenly, the numbers for Diamond surged violently, and all of Kiyoshi's screen went blank. Rufus stood up and said, "What happened? Where are the vitals? What's going on?!"

One of the bewildered techs started typing frantically at his station, trying to bring something, anything, up onto the screen. "I-I don't know, sir! Whatever that energy reading was, it's knocked every satellite in that sector out. It'll be some time before we can get any sort of reading from there, and even that's still iffy. Diamond's blast must have let out a EMP pulse of its own that's added to the one earlier."

Rufus swept an arm to the side and yelled, "Then get Sigma out there and find out what the hell just happened! We need-"

"Belay that order, technician."

Rufus paused for a moment before letting out a growl and turning towards the elevator. Standing there in all of his "Imperial glory" was Augustus Shinra, head of House Shinra, sixty-fifth Emperor of the Jade Empire. A rather portly man whose blond hair was receding and a rather thick mustache on his face, he held himself arrogantly, though the way his royal robes seemed to have been hastily thrown on took away much of the authority his image would have commanded.

Behind him stood Danielle Shinra, the Empress and Rufus' mother. It was obvious who Rufus took more after, as she had the exact shade of hair and eye colors as he. She was gorgeous, which made some wonder just what the Emperor's problem was to ignore such a gem, her angular features belying a softness underneath that endeared her to her people. Her long hair had been done up into a bun held together by golden pins with jeweled tassels on the end.

Rufus glared at the man before him and snarled out, "What did you say, _Tou-san_?"

The Emperor ignored his son, merely passing off the boy's feelings on the situation as stress on finding an active Weapon roaming the world, and he turned to the technician who had been speaking earlier. "Can you confirm if whether or not Diamond is currently gone?"

The technician seemed to stare with incredulity before remembering himself and turning back to the screen to type in more information. After a few seconds of going through the earlier data, he sighed and replied, "Yes, my lord. Diamond is confirmed to be destroyed. That blast it let out seemed to contain what was left of its life energies. Upon its death, it did not have anything left within it to survive its own attack."

Augustus smiled and turned back to his son. "There. You see? There's no need for any more confirmation. If it's dead like our computers say, then it's dead. If not, we'll soon find out any way."

"But, Tou-san!" Rufus snapped back. "What about Kiyoshi-san? What if he's currently hurt and needs medical attention? Sigma 43 is the only one who could reach him in time!"

"We cannot waste resources for a rogue agent who always seems to go off and do his own thing," the man replied, waving his son's concerns away. "If Kiyoshi-san is alive, he will have to find his own way back to safety. He should have been equipped for such measures, and it's his own fault if he has not been."

He turned and headed back for the elevator. "Bring Sigma 43 back, sochi, and don't think about sending any others out after him, even the other Tenshis. Leave the Elemental Nations to their own devices."

When the doors closed, Rufus could only stare in shock. Was the man really so stupid as to ignore the plight of someone who served them so faithfully? And since when had Kiyoshi been a "rogue agent," when that callous bastard had sent him there in the first place? Soon his shock gave way to anger, and he picked up a nearby chair and threw it into the wall, yelling wordlessly as he did so, before slumping into another and holding his head in his hands.

He felt a hand rest gently on his shoulder, and he turned to look at his mother smiling softly at her only son. She rubbed him a little to calm him down as she said, "Worry not, my sochi. If I know dear Kiyoshi-kun, he's still alive. He'll be okay. Just have faith in him." When he nodded, she then turned to the elevators. "Come along. Let us go and have dinner."

Rufus sat still for a few seconds before rising to his feet, and as he moved to join his mother, he barked out, "Keep searching that area for anything you can! The moment you can confirm something, I want it brought to me immediately!"

The room sounded back positively and got to work, while Reeve ran a hand through his hair and sighed. _Cloud's gonna have my head for this – or at least, she gonna have the Emperor's when she finds out._


End file.
